Biker Nate

For Love or Money?

2012-02-12T20:52:00.002-05:00

Hanging on the wall at our shop.

Every Monday morning my entire crew at National Powersports comes in early for a meeting. We go over all types of things from procedural changes to reading letters from customers. This last Monday we didn't have a lot to go over so I kind of jokingly said something to the tune of "ok, were done unless you guys want to hear one of my soapbox speeches about why I started the business". It was sort of a half joke, but one of the guys encouraged me, saying that we hadn't heard it in a while. Since I have some new employees that really hadn't heard the entire background I decided to talk about why NPS has been successful.

It is really important that everybody that works at NPS knows why I started the business. It's important to know that we have a bigger mission than just selling motorcycles and making money. Here is why.

NPD had very humble beginnings. After leaving my Dads business I was working for a little Tech Startup. It was a great company with only 7 employees. I respected them and they respected me. That was something that I had sorely missed working for my father. I had been doing very well at this little company and had started investing in Mutual Funds. Now that my salary had exceeded my living expenses I had been told by everybody that it was time to start investing for the future. So I met with a financial planner who showed me how my $500 a month investment would turn into millions in 30 years, based on historical data.

Well after one year, and the attacks on 9/11, my mutual funds had tanked. I realized that I have neither the patience nor the knowledge to be an "investor". After Amy and I both came to the conclusion that there had to be a better way to make a return on our investments I decided to purchase an old motorcycle with the $500 and fix it up. I bought a bike, cleaned it up and sold it on eBay for a few hundred dollars profit. This made a huge impression on me. I thought about it from the rate of return point of view and realized that the Mutual funds might give me a 10% ROI, but if I did the motorcycle thing a couple times a month in my spare time my ROI would be in the thousands per year.

In November of 2001, shortly after I started this side project, my boss called me and informed me that the tech company wasn't going to make it. Rather than looking for another job, I decided that I was going to turn this motorcycle gig into a full time job. I was pretty terrified. Amy and I had $10,000 in the bank and now neither of us had a job. Our expenses were over $3000 per month so we had about 3 months to make this thing go before we were out of money.

We lived on Ramen Pride noodles and busted our asses. I worked from 6 in the morning placing adds, driving to look at bikes, fixing them up in the garage, listing them on eBay, and answering emails all day. And after dinner I would do the books and work some more. I usually finished at around 11pm. My best friend Jeremy would come over after he got done with work and help me with the mechanical things that I couldn't do. It was a huge amount of stress, but not the type of stress that I had been under working for dad. It was good stress, if that makes any sense. It was also a lot of fun.

I was fortunate enough to do well from the very beginning. We made money and I had a real business! I could have kept going at the level I was for years to come, but soon something very special happened. Without going into a lot of detail (maybe the topic of another blog post in the future) I figured out what my "Primary Aim" was for my life. After much thought about the life I left behind working for my Dad I realized that no matter what I do I always wanted one thing. The courage to tell the truth. Once I figured that out my business took on a completely different meaning.

Suddenly selling motorcycles was about a lot more than just making a profit. I had an obligation to tell the truth to my customers. I had always been truthful with my customers, but now what it meant was that I needed to find out everything about the motorcycles that I was selling so my customers knew before they made a decision. I developed a process to uncover the things that were NOT perfect with the bikes as well as marketing what was good about them. I decided that my commitment was to be my customers advocate. Telling the truth means being thorough. Telling the truth often meant that I actually prevented a sale because I was honest with the customer. For me, that was and is still way more important than putting somebody on the wrong bike.

When it came time to hire employees the most important thing was that they felt the same way about the importance of telling the truth. No matter what we did or do now, we can always find a guiding principal with that concept. My employees aren't on commission and feel zero pressure to "sell" somebody a motorcycle. They do feel pressure to always tell the truth. They are allowed to make mistakes, but they all know that the one thing that will get you fired is lying.

Once I made this change the business went nuts. It sounds so simple, but it is not the norm for most business's. Many start with good intentions, but get completely off track when they adopt making money as the number one reason for all their decisions. I don't look at my industry to see what others are doing, I simply follow the rule of telling the truth and providing for others.

This has taught me that if you do things for others, rather than for your own selfish reasons, the money, success and prosperity follows. It is the natural way of things. My best success has come when I focused on others as the reason for doing something. When I focus only on me I am sure to be denied the object of my desire.

Do it for the love. The money will follow.

New Balance MT110 Long Term Update

2012-01-29T17:08:00.000-05:00

400 Miles and counting.

Since the New Balance MT110 has just started being released I thought it might be relevant to write up a quick update on how mine are holding up. You can read my original review HERE. I have used many pairs of shoes this year, but I still managed to put on over 400 miles on this pair that was given to me by New Balance in August.

Before I get to far into this post, let me say again how much I love these shoes. Until this shoe I have never run 100 miles without significant blisters. The NB ML1 last which these shoes (and the entire Minimus line) are built upon fit me like a glove. I wore these shoes for the first 70 miles of the Leadville 100 in August and then the first 50 miles of the Bartram 100 in December (which was my first 100 mile win). If they had a little more cushioning I would have worn them the entire way. I'm going to resist gushing about these shoes, rather just show pictures of how they are holding up. What I will say is that my enthusiasm for this shoe has not waned from my original review.

And now for the best part. They are holding up incredibly well. For a shoe that is almost as light as a racing flat and less than $100 they are an incredible value. I think that a lot of us have found that lightweight usually equals less durable. This has not been the case with the MT110's. I have used them on every type of terrain imaginable. From the rocky Leadville Trails to New England mud, they have handled everything I've thrown at them.


Side view. No tears, rips or holes in either shoe.


View of Sole.


Rubber on bottom shows much less wear than I would expect from a trail shoe with 400 miles on it.


Exposed EVA (blue) shows wear, but doesn't effect performance.


Heel wear. Similar to forefoot.


Inside of shoe is in remarkable shape. For such a lightweight shoe it is amazing that the inside has no rips or tears.


Another inside view

The only area showing any wear. This is a tiny spot that showed up a while ago and has not got worse.

Honestly, I'm amazed at this shoe. MSRP is $84.99 as seen on the NB Website. I have paid close to that for an off road racing flat that after 100 miles was destroyed. I think this shoe presents one of the best values of a lightweight trail shoe available on the market. For any of you on the fence about this shoe because of concerns of reliability, I hope this helps.

Obligatory "Year in Review" for 2011

2012-01-04T20:10:00.000-05:00

You know what? I've started to write about what happened in 2011 many times now. The reality is that, who cares? I've written about all of it throughout the year here on my blog, so why bother recap it? If I did bother to write one up, it would all boil down to this:

2011 was awesome.

I ran 3500 miles. I won a 100 mile race. I spent more time with Amy and the kids. National Powersports had a great year, blah blah blah.

The reality is that I feel like every day is New Years day. Every single day that I wake up I spend a few minutes thinking about how fortunate I am and how much I love being alive. And then I think hard about what I want to happen today and what I will do to make sure that it does. I don't make New Years resolutions because every single day we have the opportunity to change the direction of our lives.

I truly believe that every single person alive has the ability to lead whatever type of life they want. I'm proof. Many think that there are people who live "charmed" lives. You know the old saying, "you could fall into a bucket of shit and come out smelling like roses". I am guessing that many people that know me think I might be that guy. But that's not always how it has been. Like it or not, the life that we are living today is a result of the thoughts and choices we made yesterday. I'm not charmed, I'm living my life concisely.

When I worked for my father I might have been the most miserable person on the face of the earth. The amount of stress that I felt was unbearable. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. Anxiety to the point of panic was normal. The worst part was that I thought that I had no options. I felt completely trapped in a situation that I had no control over. Helpless is the best word that describes how I felt.

But eventually I left. I walked away from my family's business that I was supposedly supposed to inherit. I left with nothing. No pension, not much money in the bank and a family to support. The frustration of the situation had finally outweighed the terror of stepping outside of it. And you know what? I didn't die. The world didn't collapse. As a matter of fact things started to get better once I took control over my life. I am not a helpless spectator in what happens to me and what I get out of life. And neither is anybody else, but most of us just don't know it yet.

So where am I going with this? I think that a better topic for my first post of the New Year is to share how I did it and hope that somebody reading this who is unhappy might start to move in the same direction. It all starts with an open mind and a willingness to re-consider many of the things we were taught growing up. Here's the secret. Your thoughts control everything you do and everything you get out of this life. Most of us don't think of reality that way. Our thoughts ebb and flow like the tides, and most of us think of ourselves as passengers along for a ride. Its not true. But it takes a phenomenal amount of practice and work to take control over them.

I am still working hard to understand it all, but the more I practice the better I'm getting. For those of you still with me here, yes, I am referring to what most call the Law of Attraction. I'm not going to try to explain it all here. I'm not an expert, nor would I position myself as a teacher. What I will do, for those who are interested, is post some of the books I am studying and have found influential.

1. If you have never heard about the Law of Attraction (LOA) I would suggest "The Secret", by Rhonda Byrne. Warning: This is the hokiest, over-commercialized, bastardized explanation of the LOA. BUT, it will open you to the concept, which seems over the top unbelievable. The best and most inspirational parts are the stories of people who have overcome incredible odds to achieve great things with their lives. It will most likely raise more questions and a lot of skepticism. Again, keep an open mind to the idea, not the method in which the message is being delivered. There is also a movie, which is even more goofy.

2. A book that will absolutely change your life (If your open to it) is "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill. If you study the CEO's of a TON of successful businesses you will find this book referenced to over and over again. This book was written in the 1920's and the message and lessons are timeless and have been proven over and over.

3. If you read "The Secret" and want to understand the LOA in much better detail read "The Master Key System" by Charles Haanel. I am still working on it, but have found answers to many of my questions. It was originally meant to be a weekly study course, so you work through the book chapter at a time. It is the most comprehensive explanation of how the LOA (and many other laws of nature) work.

I don't discuss the LOA with many people. Frankly, I'm a bit hesitant to even publish this post. But this is the direction I have gone with my thoughts and beliefs. It has given me the vision to create National Powersports, it has allowed me to achieve physical achievements that I never would have thought possible, it has allowed me to be financially comfortable. Most of all, I don't worry much anymore. It has allowed me to eliminate a huge amount of stress in my life. It has allowed me to have light where there used to be dark.

My hope for everybody for 2012 is to have an incredible year full of light and happiness.

Altra Lone Peak shoe review

2011-12-28T20:10:00.001-05:00

Altra Lone Peak

When the Altra Instinct came out I was psyched. Finally there was a cushioned zero drop shoe with a fantastic toe box. You can read my review of the shoe here. When I first discovered Altra, the shoe I was really looking forward to was the Lone Peak. After reaching out to Altra and telling them about my PPS they emailed and said that they would like to sponsor my attempt. They sent me a pair of the Instincts for free and gave me a discount on 2 additional pairs. I wore them for the Western States 100, the Vermont 100 and part of the Leadville 100.

As the summer wore on the release for the Lone Peaks kept getting delayed. I couldn't wait for the additional traction and protection that the shoe promised. When they finally came out my summer of racing was over. Altra Co-Owner Brian Beckstead reached out to me recently and told me that Altra would love my feedback on the shoe now that it was out. Originally they had promised to send me a pair for free when they were available. For some reason, perhaps because my race schedule for the year was complete, Brian said that I could buy a pair at a discount. At this point I have been using several other shoes as my go-to trail shoes, most notably the New Balance MT110's and Brooks Pure Grits. I really did not need to buy another pair of shoes, but I had been waiting for these shoes to come out for almost 6 months and I do love the Instincts. So I decide to take Brian up on his offer and bought a pair.

Notice how hard I'm pushing on the heel. The sole feels like it's made out of steel. It doesn't flex.

For comparisson, my Instincts with similar (if not less) pressure applied at the same point.

When they arrived I was super surprised at how stiff they were. The addition of a rock plate and the additional stack height had turned the familiar shoe into a very rigid one. I ordered the shoes a 1/2 size smaller on Brian's recommendation and I'm glad I did, as they fit well. Once again, the toe box is excellent. Nice and wide with plenty room to splay my toes. But wearing them around the house the felt noticeably stiffer than the Instincts. I put them in the closet where they stayed for a while.

Much better traction than the Instinct

Finally I decided to give them a whirl and took them out for a 16 mile jaunt. Within the first 100 feet I knew that they were a different animal than the Instincts. My foot felt like it was trapped in a container, rather than being part of an instrument meant to enhance running. My heel was rubbing up and down against the rear of the shoe with every step because the sole was so stiff that the shoe wasn't flexing with my steps.

Great Toebox

As the run continued onto the trails the shoe felt better, but still too stiff. My foot had no ground feel whatsoever and the lack of lateral flexibility was frustrating. The increased traction (over the Instincts) was a noticeable improvement. One thing I noticed right away was that the rudder type thing on the back of the shoe was rubbing my opposite calf a lot and became rather irritating. If I use these shoes again I am going to cut it off first. I can't see that it serves any purpose.

Calf hair remover....

Eventually I ran through a stream and discovered another issue. The shoe doesn't drain. More specifically, the insole is made of a squishy rubber that seems to absorb water like a diaper and then holds it against the bottom of your foot for the rest of the run. It never dries out. My feet were wet for the entire run, even though I ran through the water within the first few miles. This would be a fatal flaw for me if I was going to run 100 miles in them. I can't imagine how bad my blisters would be.

Honestly, I'm disappointed. I love my Instincts and had such high hopes for this shoe. It is so over built for my needs and feels just like the shoes I've been so happy to get away from since moving towards more minimal shoes. Here's how it ends up for me:

Pros -
Excellent shaped last
Tons of toe room
Zero drop
Huge amount of protection from rocks, etc.

Con's -
Stiff sole
Stiff upper
Doesn't drain
Doesn't move with my foot

If you are looking for a Sherman Tank off road shoe with a zero drop this is your shoe. For me, it's just to much shoe and lacks the elegance that I'm looking for in an off road shoe.

Give it to me one more time! - Bartram 100 Race Report

2011-12-12T19:43:00.003-05:00

Welcome to middle Georgia!

On November 30th I posted on Facebook "I really would like to run 100 miles...soon." As much as I didn't want to admit it, I was kind of depressed about how my season had ended. Even though I had successfully completed three difficult 100's the last DNF's we what stuck most in my mind.

I hadn't planned on doing any more races and I had backed way off my training. As a matter of fact, I wasn't "training" at all. What I was doing was simply running for the love of running. For the first time in years, I wasn't following a training plan, and I was falling in love with running again. Which lead to me posting that I wanted to race again. I certainly hadn't planned on doing another one, but I wanted a chance to redeem myself. I was a little bit afraid that I might be biting off more than I can chew, and the possibility of having to endure another DNF would crush me. But at the same time, I've never been afraid to challenge myself and doing one more race might give me the chance to end the year on a more positive note.

One of my Facebook friends recommended that I check out the Bartram 100 in Georgia, only two weeks away. Only in it's second year, Bartram is a loop course with the competitors running a 6.25 mile loop 16 times. The few pictures I could dig up on Google showed nice single track and woods running with only about 300 ft of elevation gain/loss per loop. After talking with Amy and getting her blessing I decided to go for it.

Hometown feel, its like the Anti-Leadville

I checked in and picked up my race number Friday night and was pleased to meet a bunch of very friendly nice people. The start/finish line was right next to a covered area with picnic benches and a great place to put my bag of supplies for the race. I went back into the town of Milledgeville and checked into the hotel. After seeing that it had a microwave and fridge I went to the Piggly Wiggly and bought dinner and breakfast for the next morning. After a nice dinner of rice and avocado I retired early in hopes of getting a good nights sleep.

You'd think I'd be able to take a clear picture with an automatic camera.

I arrived at 6:30 the next morning just in time to set up my support bag and be ready for the 7am start. Since they had an aid station set up about 1/2 way through the loop it meant that all I had to carry was a handheld bottle. My strategy was to eat a gel at each aid station or every 30 to 45 minutes. For fluids I would drink the Gatorade that was provided at both stations. I filled up my bottle, ate a gel, put another in my bottle pocket and was ready to go.

Start/Finish Line on left

Without any fanfare or pretense the RD sent us off and just as the sun was rising we were on our way. Let me do my best to give a course description. Since I was so focused on doing my best here I didn't take any pictures, so this is from memory. After 16 laps of the course, I know it like the back of my hand.

Starting line reservoir

The course starts off around a tiny resevoiur and then bears left onto a hardpacked singletrack. Shortly the single track goes uphill for the steepest climb in the 6.25 miles. It is easily run and does not go that far. At the top it goes left through a field then bears right, all at a slight uphill, through a small cultivated forest. Next is a junction where you head left for the short out and back section. This is the place on the course where you can check out how far ahead or behind your competitors are. After you go into the woods it comes to a dead end where you go around three cones and then head back where you came from. At the junction you bear left where you follow some powerlines.

Halfway up this hardpacked dirt road it becomes a little hill that goes for about 1/4 mile. At the top you bear right onto some grassy trails that goes downhill. This part is a little tricky because what looks like nice soft grass has 2-3" sharp railroad type rocks scattered about. After it goes down hill for a ways it goes back up. Again, this incline is easily run. The trail turns left for a short ways through another cultivated forest where the trees are in perfect rows, like the tombstones at Arlington. At the end of this section you take a left. At this point you can actually see the start line strait ahead, but it is still a couple miles away if you follow the course. This is where the midway aid station is located. There is a table with gels, heed, gatorade and water. Throughout the day new surprises showed up on the table, like bowls of Mike and Ike candies. There is also a porta potty, which I never had to use.

After a left through the woods and a short uphill, the trail turns right and goes downhill thorugh a nice grass trail into the woods. A short woods section complete with man made bridges eventually puts you out to the last climb of the trail, again, easily run when you are fresh. At the top of the hill you bear right and go down a long open exposed road where there are more stones to watch for. Then you take a right back into nice single track trails for a while until you get back to the start/finish.

For the first 3 or 4 laps I was finishing each lap in about an hour. I knew that there was no way that I could keep up a 16 hour pace, but I didn't see the point in purposely slowing down any since I was running easy and very comfortable. My fueling strategy was working very well and I was feeling excellent. I had a feeling early that it was going to be one of those days where I was strong. I spent quite a bit of time in the early laps talking to Tony Portera. Tony is from NY and it turns out we have a lot of mutual friends. He was running very strong and looks poised and relaxed. He was great company and we frequently reminded each other that we were going out way to fast. But we both still kept running all the hills...For most of the morning we were running in 4th and 5th place and we couldn't believe the pace of the two front runners. The leader was putting at least 5 minutes on us per lap!

Eventually Tony said that he just had to purposely slow down his pace so he dropped back a bit. I started to walk in 4 places, but never for very long. Just long enough to change up the muscles that I was using. I decided that my strategy would be to try to not walk any more than I was doing on those laps and see if I could just keep up the pace.

New Balance MT110s

I was wearing my New Balance MT110 shoes with my favorite Wright socks. This is the exact same combo that I used for the first 70 miles of Leadville. Again I was perfectly blister free and happy to be so! I hit the 50 mile point in 8 hours and 33 minutes feeling good, but the shoes were starting to get thin under my feet and my hips were getting very tight. I decided to do a quick sock and shoe change. I changed into my Brooks True Grits and took off. I might have spent 5 minutes at that stop.

Brooks Pure Grit

The sole of the shoe felt much better and offered way more cushioning and protection from the rocks, but it wasn't more than another couple of miles that I knew that I was going to have a problem with the toes on my right foot. Two of them were rubbing on the top and front of the shoes and I realized that my feet were probably larger than normal due to swelling. I hadn't anticipated that! I made a vow to myself at that point that I wasn't going to change for the rest of the race and I would simply stick it out no matter what type of shape my feet were in. I was super focused on moving forward at all times and and not wasting any time. I even continued to walk when I had to pee. It sounds stupid, but looking back at what happened at the finish line (eventually I'll get to that) it was a smart decision.

With my music blasting and the sun setting I continued to put in the laps. The hardest part was running a 2 mile stretch where there was no place to walk. Every lap I continued to push myself to not walk in this area even though I was getting more and more tired.

Somewhere around the 10th-12th lap I started to feel very sick to my stomach. I was completely repulsed by the gels I was eating and by the Gatorade I was drinking. I knew that I had to eat at all cost but even the though of eating a gel grossed me out. As I was starting one of the climbs I was completely overwhelmed by a need to throw up. Damn, I hate throwing up. My attitude was still good though. I actually laughed as I stopped and started to dry heave. I have never puked during a race before and I felt like it was a right of passage. After three hard heaves the feeling went away. I didn't throw up. I have no idea why not, but I kept moving and ate a gel as soon as I could.

As I got to the midway aid station I decided to try a cup of heed. Most runners I know stay away from the stuff as they say that it bloats them and makes them sick. At this point I had to try anything other than what I was doing. I drank a cup and instantly felt better. It wasn't sweet and it settled my stomach. I was psyched. Major problem solved, at least for now. I dumped the Gatorade out of my bottle, filled it with heed and took off to finish another lap.

When I got the start finish I asked if they had any turkey. They did and I took off for my next lap with 4 or 5 slices. My new secret weapon. Turkey and Heed. Hey, it worked! I started to feel very good and was moving well. I kept putting in the laps and with about 4 to go I asked how far the leader was in front of me. He was 55 minutes ahead and I was in second place. I put my head down and just kept hammering. With two laps to go I asked again how far behind I was and I was told about 35 minutes, but the leader was slowing down. I told them I was going to make a race of it and took off.

I was feeling good and just doing my best to keep my pace up. I had the bit between my teeth, but honestly was more concerned about breaking 20 hours than winning. I could be pretty happy with second place!! On the last lap I was still feeling good so I decided that I should give it everything that I had. I ran every single step and all the hills. About 2 miles from the finish I came upon a runner who was stopped and holding his legs. I asked if he was ok as I passed by and he said yes.

He didn't look familiar to me. Could that be the leader that I just passed? Holy crap, was I in the lead? I became really motivated to not let him catch me if he was. I was running scared and flying. Shortly after I passed a slower runner and his pacer, a person that I recognized as one of the race directors. They asked me if I had seen a guy earlier with a white jacket. I said that I had, he was just a little ways back. I asked if he was the leader and they said no.

I was pretty bummed, but there was no reason to slow down. Since I was flying, why not finish strong and get the best time possible. The pull of the finish line was in full effect and as the finish line came into sight I passed another runner who was moving pretty slowly. As I blew by him I quickly realized that he was sprinting to catch me. It was the leader!!! I ran as hard as I could and crossed the finish line before him with a time of 19:19:43. His time was 19:19:45. I won by 2 seconds and set a course record. I still can't believe that after 100 miles only two seconds separated us!!!

I felt terrible for him, but at the same time I had just won my first race! I tried to keep the tears from coming but I did get pretty misty eyed after. I was in shock. I had a very tough time getting to the car when I tried to pack up an hour later. My left hip flexor was so tight that I couldn't lift my leg to walk! The next day at the airport I looked like a penguin walking. My feet were bruised up from smashing on the rocks.

Earlier this year when I DNF'd at the Bear, I learned my most important lesson from all these races. If you don't want it bad enough then you won't do your best. I wanted to do well at this race so badly that it was worth the risk of another failure. All week before the race I spent time imagining doing well and erasing all doubt from my mind. I was focused and driven. When things got tough I was able to push through.

This was a great race with nice people and a real home town feeling. For my win I got....nothing. No buckle, no finishers award, no medal. And that is perfectly alright with me. The feeling of satisfaction that I got out of it is better than anything anybody could have given me.

Brooks Pure Grit Shoe Review

2011-11-20T17:11:00.001-05:00

In March I ran across a post on runblogger.com about the Brooks Pure Project. As I was training for my Potentially Painful Summer I was contemplating what shoe I would use for tacking all these 100 mile races. I wanted a shoe that had a minimal upper, less than 4mm heel/toe differential and sufficient cushioning and protection to run 100 miles. The Brooks Pure Grit grabbed my attention. On paper it looked like the perfect candidate.

I did everything I could to get a pair of pre-production shoes, but I just couldn't make it happen. Finally early last month I got my hands on a pair of them. Because I like lots of room for my toes I normally buy a size 11 in my running shoes, even though my foot measures more in the range of 10-10.5. I got a pair of 11's and did a few short runs before my run across NH. The shoes were simply to large for me, but since I did end up wearing them for over 40 miles of paved roads that day. They turned out to be a really good road shoe with sufficient protection for long pavement runs.

A few weeks ago I ended up giving them to my younger brother, who loved them. I bought a pair of 10.5's which fit my entire foot much better. I used them for pacing my friend Adam for the last 32 miles of the Pinhoti 100. I was in them for 10 hours. I then used them last weekend for a 28 mile run that consisted mostly of pavement, but also had 15 miles of rocky rail trail.

I never encountered anything that technical during either one of those runs, besides some rocky single track at Pinhoti. So when Pete from runblogger.com asked me to do a shoe review I decided that I better try them for a more technical run to better analyse them. So this morning I headed out on a 15 mile trail run on the local snowmobile trails to put them through their paces.

I started with a mile of paved roads before I ducked into some of my favorite trails. The trails were rocky and covered with leaves for the first couple of miles until I hit my first steep climb. As I continued with the run I threw everything I could at them. One thing I hadn't tested yet was their ability to drain. I am glad to report that I ran through every waterhole, stream and puddle that I could and these shoes are remarkable at shedding water quickly.

Post-run. Ended up in a swamp buried up to my crotch. All in the name of testing drainage...

I am a little bit mixed on my feeling on the traction. I actually ended up ass over teakettle when I tried hit an off camber section. The side traction isn't awesome.

Unique traction pattern.

I had no trouble with normal climbing and descending. Over the course of the run I encountered loose leaves, pavement, rocks, mud, sand, water, swamps and nice sticky single track. I even ended up stuck in a swampy bog up to my crotch. It only looked like a puddle...

All that being said, here are my personal Pro's and Con's of these shoes.

CONS

Toebox. I'm not sure if I have unusual shaped feet, but the toebox in the big toe area is very pointed. It looks like it has been extended, perhaps to fit in the Brooks cameltoe thingy. To illustrate my point, here is a picture of my feet on the footbeds. Because of the rapid slope of the toebox my outside two toes end up rubbing slightly against the front of the shoe.

I wore socks to spare you the horror that are my bare feet.

Arch support. I have become very use to shoes that don't have arch support. As a result I no longer have PF. The arch support in this shoe has started to aggrevate it. Not a good thing.

Too much arch support for my tastes.

Nav Band. It just doesn't do anything. I do have a low volume forefoot, so perhaps those of you with weird gangly tall forefeet will love it. For me it is simply a nice place to tuck in the long laces.

Nav Band is too loose to do anything.

Overall Fit. They don't wrap around my feet the way some of my favorite shoes do. The New Balance MT110 is still the gold standard which I measure all trail shoes against as far as fit. The Grits allow my foot to twist in the shoe when side traversing. Its not severe, but it is still there.

Comparison in shapes. PG insole, NB MT110, my foot.

PROS

Cushioning. The BioMoGo sole does a great job of protecting your feet, offering lots of cushioning, while still being flexible.

Great cushioning, low heel rise, incredible draining powers

Minimal heel rise. The forefoot/heel delta is only 4mm. This allows a nice neutral mid/forefoot stride.

Drainage. This is one of the quickest draining and drying shoes that I have ever used. The uppers material is excellent at shedding water.

Overall Usability. If I could only have one pair of shoes (God forbid) these would probably be the ones. They have enough cushioning to run 40 miles of roads. They have enough protection to run rocky trails. They drain well enough to run in mud and muck all day and they allow for and encourage a midfoot stride.

I'd really like to see this shoe have less (or none) arch support and a more rounded toebox. For now, those few flaws aren't enough to keep my feet out of them.

RANH part II - Into the Night

2011-11-16T20:00:00.000-05:00

Into the night! Manchester NH

This is Part II of my report of the Run Across New Hampshire. For part I click here.

It was now 6pm as Team Robert gathered up their gear I said my goodbye's and thank you's to my family. It was starting to get cold and the sun was rapidly setting. I was really sad to see my family go, but at the same time I felt like I hit a milestone by reaching the hand off point for the last section of the run. Only 50 miles to go!

Hoka Bondi B - my "Clown Shoes"

I changed into my Hoka Bondi B shoes. My Brooks Pure Grits had worked great for the last 40 miles, but I was just looking forward to the extra cushioning that the Hoka's give. We said goodbye to the girls, and then Josh and I took off down the Goffstown rail trail. As we ran into the dark I felt a sense of relief to be running with somebody. Our conversation flowed like water and I was very thankful to be running with Josh. We marveled at the trails steep drop off and my shin was feeling much better since changing shoes. I was very optimistic that this would be the year that I finished the run!

Goffstown Rail Trail during the day.

By the time we finished the rail trail and headed into Manchester it was a little before 8pm. I was in great spirits and running with Josh was really helping the time fly by. As we ran though the upper village towards the bridge we joked about how nuts we looked. As people walked into stores they seemed a little confused by seeing two guys with backpacks, reflective gear and headlights running through town.

When we hit the long hill going away from town up Bridge street we decided to just walk. I had forgotten how steep that hill gets! Again I struggled with having patience. It seemed like it was taking forever to get up that hill. As we got near the top the moon was incredible. It was almost full and it was HUGE. It really looked like the moon was sitting on top of the hill. Little things like that really distract me from how my body feels when doing a big run like this. I try to appreciate those moments as much as possible and when I do I kind of forget the physical pain for a moment.

Loni and Leah

As we got to the top of the hill Leah was ready with food and drink. I hung out there for a while and was getting pretty tired. Grant decided to run with me for a while and Josh took a break. I had only met Grant once. Last year in the winter all of us ran the Goffstown rail trail together. Grant is a really nice guy, full of enthusiasm for running. As we made our way over to the rail trail we got to know each other more and talked about shoes a lot. It turns out that he reads my blog and knew a lot of things about my life from it.

Grant

I was getting more and more tired and I don't think that Grant had ever been with somebody who has already run almost 70 miles. I was getting grumpy which anybody in my situation goes through. At one point I said something about getting tired or my feet hurting...who knows...and Grant said something like "Don't worry my job is to just keep you going". For whatever reason I snapped back at him and said "No...that's not your job! This isn't a race and I don't need anybody to keep me going!"

Things got a little quiet after that. This is why I've stopped using pacers in races this year. When you run all day and night you get raw. As much as you would like not to, you sometimes just don't have the energy to control what comes out of your mouth. I felt bad later when I found out that Grant said something to Josh about it. Josh laughed and told him that was part of the deal when you help somebody do something like this. In Ultras there is a saying that Crew stands for Cranky Runner Endless Waiting. It's a tough job.

Rail Trail during the day

I got to the entrance of the Rockingham Rail trail a little past 9pm. I was really looking forward to getting off the pavement for the next 25 miles. As I sat in a chair I realized that my feet were killing me. My shin was killing me and I was just plain tired. I was getting grumpy, and had long stopped even trying to be polite. Everybody helping was awesome, offering me food, refilling my bottles, etc.. I was really glad to have them along.

Rail Trail in the winter

Finally I headed out on the rail trail. I had only seen the trail in the winter so I had no idea what type of surface it was going to be. I should have expected the obvious. It was mostly crushed stone....like a rail trail, duh. Loni had taken over for Grant, but was riding a bicycle. She is a great person to have on an endeavor like this. She could tell when I didn't feel like talking and was content enough just riding with me. When I did feel like talking the conversation flowed easily. I was psyched to have the protection of the Hoka shoes on this surface and knew I had made the right choice with wearing them.

Unfortunately after a couple of miles we came upon an area that was completely flooded out. There was no way around it. I didn't know what to do because the Hokas are terrible when wet. They don't drain well. Until now my feet had been dry all day and I had no blisters. Hindsight being 20/20 I should have just ridden Loni's bike across or even taken my shoes off. But I just dove in and walked through it.

It wasn't 5 minutes later that the blisters started. Now I was getting bummed out. I still had about 40 miles to go and needed to do something to make sure they didn't become a problem. But I really wanted the protection of the Hokas. At this point there was nothing that I could do. In a couple of miles we saw the crew at one of the road crossings and I changed shoes. But here is where I made a stupid decision. Since I was worried about blisters I put on my best fitting shoes, the new New Balance MT110's. They fit awesome, but offer almost no cushioning or protection.

New Balance MT110's

As soon as we headed back out on the trail I knew I had made a mistake. I decided to just suck it up and thought that things would get better as I adapted to them. I felt every single rock on every single step. Now my feet hurt really, really bad. No, I mean really bad. I slowed down for a bit, walking more than running.
Josh had joined me and Loni at the last stop and once again our conversation had lifted my spirits. I decided to put on my music. As soon as I did I felt better. I took off and caught Josh by surprise. I was singing and they were laughing at me. Josh and I did a rendition of The Greatest Song in the World by Tenacious D. It was ironic because Sherpa John and I had sung the same song on our first RANH.

Josh, smiling as usual

As Josh and Loni were commenting on how I had come back to life I explained to them that this is usually what happens to me in a 100 mile race. But in a unfortunate prediction of what was to come I also said, "who knows, I feel good now but I might blow up spectacularly not that far down the road". About a mile later I was walking again. My feet started hurting so badly that I was shuffling along extremely slowly. I was looking at the side of the trail for a place to sit. All I wanted to do was to get off my feet.

I started getting really impatient. Josh had been calling ahead to the crew truck to find out how much further we had to go before we could see them. I had to get out of these shoes. I looked at my watch and couldn't believe how short of a distance I had gone in the last hour. Finally we came to a place that I could sit. The pain in my feet was incredible. Grant biked to us from the truck with my Brooks Pure Grits, which I had used earlier with a lot of success.

Brooks Pure Grit

After a short break and the change of shoes my feel felt better, but I was still moving slowly. I was also freezing because I had slowed down so much. At 1:15am we saw the support truck again. It had taken me 4 hours to go 11 miles, but in my sleep deprived brain I did the math wrong and thought that it had taken me 4.5 hours to go 5 miles. That was enough for me to feel overwhelmed. I got into the warm truck and tried to stop shivering uncontrollably. After a few minutes the crew checked on my to see how I was doing. I told them that I was done. 80 miles was a good day and I felt fortunate to have the opportunity to run all day with the help of my friends and family.

I didn't feel bad at all about calling it quits at that point. I had achieved exactly what I had been after. I was looking for an adventure and to see NH in a way that I had never seen it before. Not only did that happen, but I was once again reminded how much love and support I have in my life. You just can't be in a bad mood or upset when you have that.

Sunrise over the Ocean at the finish

Last Saturday night, at midnight, Josh, Leah, Loni and I drove out to the place where I called it quits and finished the run. It took five and half hours to go the last 28 miles and I had an incredible time running through the night. As I watched the sun rise over the ocean I was again overcome with how fortunate I am to have the friends and family that I do. Thank you to everybody who helped me during my Potentially Painful Summer.

15 Days?

2011-11-14T19:39:00.001-05:00

I just looked at the blog and it's been 15 days since I wrote the Part I story of the Run Across NH. It has been weighing heavily on my thoughts. Business is crazy, which is good, and I am in the process of working on opening a new shop, moving the software company forward and working on a speech for the Concord Rotary about the Potentially Painful Summer.

Hopefully I will write up the conclusion to the RANH within the next week. The short story is that I only made it 81 miles and stopped at 1:15 in the morning. This last Saturday I finished the last 28 miles of the run and had a blast. I'll get all the details to the blog soon, I just wanted to touch base with my many (tens....) of readers!

2011 Run Across NH - Part 1

2011-11-01T21:00:00.001-04:00

Saturday, October 15 marked the third time I have attempted to run across the length of NH at its widest point. The first time, in 2008 I ended up stopping about 70 miles in as a result of a stress fracture. Although I had decided that trying to 124 miles of pavement was stupid I was there again in 2009 to try again. This time I bailed about 65 miles in knowing that I was headed down the same road towards another stress fracture.

First year, trying to fix what eventually became a stress fracture.

In 2010 my friend Sherpa John decided that he was going to attempt it through rugged mt trails and I just was to busy to attempt it with him.

Originally the "Potentially Painful Summer" was going to be an attempt to run 4 100 mile races in 4 months. Shortly after conceiving the idea I decided that it would be the icing on top of the cake to finally complete a run across NH. I knew that it would be hard but that is why I decided to attempt it. Little did I know what my body and mind would feel like by the time I got to that point in the year. Good thing I didn't have a clue.

The one thing that I was never crazy about for the RANH (Run Across New Hampshire) was the route. It has always gone from Route 9 in Brattleboro to Route 4 to the final destination at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye NH. It is basically a highway. A few weeks before the run I decided that I was going to change the route to reflect more what I hoped to see for this journey. From the start John and I had talked about this run as an opportunity to see NH from a different perspective than what you would see in a car. That sounds so much better to me! So I plugged in the starting point and the ending point into google maps, clicked the "walk" button and it came up with a route of back roads and routes that I have never seen. It even incorporated 24 miles of the Rockingham Rail trail, which I have run once in the winter.

View Larger Map

In the week before the race Amy and I drove the first 45 miles of the route and I even marked the road with arrows so I wouldn't get lost. Once I saw where I was going to be running I became even more excited. It was as good as I hoped it would be. Many of the roads were deep back roads and some were even dirt. A lot of them ran along rivers and streams and the fall foliage is in full bloom.

One of the biggest obstacles to doing a run like this is figuring out how I am going to get support. When you run all day and night there are certain things that you need to keep going. Like food and drink. For long runs like this I need to consume 300-500 calories an hour. That's not easy to take care of without good support (or a HUGE backpack...) You also need somebody to help you get through the many possible problems that can happen like fixing blisters and changing shoes/clothing. Months before the run I was at my friend Sherpa Johns going away party. I was seated with Josh, Loni and Leah, also known as Team Robert.

I had just posted about my idea for the Potentially Painful Summer and they had read that I was going to once again try the RANH. They told me that they were absolutely on board with helping me out and wouldn't miss it for the world. I didn't even ask them, they volunteered.

I was blown away at their reaching out to help me. I have become friends with all three over the years, but still was humbled by their willingness to give up a weekend to help a cranky guy run 110 miles of pavement. When the time came to help they were a huge positive influence on the run. Also helping out would be my friend Adam and of course my biggest fans, my family. The plan was for Adam to start, hand me off to Amy for the majority of Saturday and Team Robert to take me through to the end.

Adam Wilcox

On Saturday morning Adam and I left the house at 3:45 and drove to the bridge at the NH/VT border in Brattleboro. At 5:02 I took off. The plan was for Adam to drive up 5 miles and wait. The weather was excellent and my body felt great. I worked extra hard to go slowly. The plan was to conserve as much energy as possible so that I could have as much energy at the end. The plan was also to not tax myself like I would do if it was a race. I was determined to go against my normal tendencies and just enjoy the day. It took me exactly an hour to catch up with Adam the first time. There are some pretty big hills in that first 5 miles and I walked them even though I didn't need to. I was already starting to wonder why it took me so long and I caught myself and let it all go. Pace just didn't matter and I was determined to not let it be so.

I drank a Boost and headed out again. As I watched the sun rise over the fog laden hills I was very happy to be finally running in this final installment of my Potentially Painful Summer (PPS). I ran alone, thinking about that moment that I decided to do these runs and what I was hoping to accomplish. For today I would enjoy simply putting one foot in front of the other. As I ran through Keene I got excited that I didn't have to take that left turn onto Route 9 to run the 50 miles of boringness into Concord. Instead I stayed strait and knew that I was only about 5 miles from seeing the family for the first time today. When I got into Marlboro, around mile 20 it was a little before 9am. I was just starting to worry that I would be there before Amy would because I told here it would be at least 9 before I got there. Luckily she had just got there and was ready for the hand off. i was starting to get tired, but also excited for this section. This is where the real back roads started. The sun was now coming up, the leaves were bursting with color and I was starting to explore a part of NH that I had never seen.

Support wagon

It was only 20 miles in and already a big concern had popped up. My right ankle/shin was starting to hurt. It was the same tightness that eventually stopped me on the two previous runs. My body must just hate running on pavement. I had been wearing my Altra Instinct Shoes which fit perfect and felt great, but I decided that since I had about a billion different pairs of shoes with me, I might was well try something different. I put on my new Brooks Pure Grits, which I had been running in the previous week. Although they are off road shoes, the sole has a nice cushioned feel and they were great on pavement. Right away the pain decreased. I did my best to just not think about it and enjoy my surroundings. There was no point in worrying about what might happen later in the day. My goal was to stay in the moment as best as I could and just see what comes my way.

As I was walking up a steep dirt road I pulled out my phone to take a picture. I had brought my camera, but I had left the memory card in my computer. As I snapped a pic, John texted me from Colorado to see how I was doing. I sent him the picture of the beautiful back road and felt very happy to be traveling this route.

At one of the stops Amy had taken the memory card from her camera and put it in the one I was carrying. I started taking pictures as I passed through Harrisville.

Amy continued on as Adam had with supporting me every 4 or 5 miles. I remember asking her to go a little bit shorter distance because my ankle was already hurting and I wanted to make sure that I could work on it if things got worse. At 10:35am I had traveled 28 miles. I hit the 50k (31 miles) at 6 hours 15 minutes into the day. Considering that I was taking lengthy stops to eat and just chat with the family I felt like I was moving along just fine. I was enjoying being alone on the back roads of NH enjoying the day. It sounds corny, but I was very grateful to be alive and in good health.

At 35 miles I was heading through Hancock NH. I posted on twitter that I was slowing down a bit and my shin was sore. The good news was that it was staying at the same level of pain and wasn't getting worse. Amy fed me turkey/avocado wrap which was delicious and kept my spirits up by reminding me to not worry about my shin and just stay in the moment. Many of the roads ran along streams and there was almost zero traffic in these areas.

Even though the pavement was taking it's toll already, I still found many things to keep my mind occupied. I laughed out loud at this witch whom had run into a tree.

In all the years I've lived in NH I've never seen a sign like these:

Are there really that many bobcats in NH that there is an entire sanctuary dedicated to them? I had no idea! The signs scared Izzy and she was on the lookout for big game when she drove through the area. Of course, no tour of NH would be complete without a covered bridge. This one is in Greenfield, about 40 miles into the run.

As I toddled along I really was enjoying the scenery. It was so nice just going out for an all day (and night hopefully) run with friends and family along to cheer me and support me. There was no pressure like at a 100 mile race. I had purposely blown off all the publicity that was available. A group of radio stations had wanted to follow me across the state and give live updates on where I was all weekend. Months ago the plan had been to do it as a fundraiser, but by the time the last few weeks had rolled around I didn't think that we could do it and raise a substantial amount of money. So instead I just decided to run for me. And now I had all the time in the world, which felt incredible. As I ran I took more pictures.

There were many houses with big fields and ponds in beautiful settings. Someday I am going to live in a location like this.

I hit the 44 mile mark at 2:17pm and tweeted that my shin was achy, but the scenery was beautiful. At 4:20 I posted that I was in New Boston, 52 miles in and that "I hate pavement". My mood was turning a bit as I was getting frustrated with my shin. I was also succumbing to my natural tendencies to worry about time. 11 hours to go 50 miles is very slow to me. And even though it wasn't that long ago that I was not concerned about time, now it bugged me that I was traveling so slowly. Sometimes being "Type A" isn't a good thing when it comes to endurance running.

But I was getting close to the point where Amy and the kids would hand me off to Team Robert. As a ran along a particularity sucky section of Route 13 (almost no shoulder and lots of traffic), I was shaken out of my funk by my friend Ron and Meredith who pulled over, jumped out of the car and ran at me with a brown paper bag!

I had posted on Facebook a couple nights earlier that I was really craving a Greek Gyro sandwich and it kind of turned into a bit joke. Of course, they had brought me a Gyro. Although I wasn't sure it was the best idea I ate the entire thing. It was completely delicious. I was sure it was going to make me shit my pants later, but I really didn't care. This was the kind of thing that made the day so fun. So, at mile 57 I ate supper by the side of the road.


I wonder if GU will come out with a lamb and feta cheese flavor...

Three miles later at 6:02 I was at the beginning of the Goffstown rail trail where Josh, Leah, Loni and Grant. Amy had been awesome and she kept my spirits up all day. It never escapes me how much she does for me and how supportive my family is. I am very thankful for them. So it was now 13 hours into my run, the sun is starting to fade and I've gone 60 miles. Oh yeah, and my shin really hurts....

Part II - Continued HERE.

Run Across New Hampshire this weekend!!

2011-10-11T20:34:00.001-04:00

This weekend I will be finishing the Potentially Painful Summer by running across NH at it's widest point. The past two times I attempted this run I stopped around the 65 mile mark with a stress fracture one year and bad tendonitis the second. This year I have decided to change the route to get away from the monotony of Route 9/4.

This years route will encompass many out of the way roads and even runs about 20 miles of the Rockingham Rail trail. Here is the route.

View Larger Map

I am really psyched for this run. Not only will it be the conclusion of a rather ambitious running schedule, but for me this new route fits much more along what I had always wanted to do while running across NH. While the original route is basically highway, this route is mostly back roads and little towns that I am not familiar with. I always imagined that running across NH would be a journey full of adventure. Hopefully this route will provide just that.

Anybody who would like to run is welcome to join me. I am starting at the bridge in Brattleboro at the VT/NH border on route 9 at 5am Saturday morning. Either myself or the crew members (Amy, Josh, Leah and Lonnie) will be updating my whereabouts throughout the day on my twitter account. I've added twitter updates to the upper right corner of the blog so everybody can follow along to see where I am.

Wrestling a Bear

2011-10-02T18:51:00.000-04:00

This is what I had been focused on since the first time I looked into the Bear 100 in Logan UT.

Course profile for The Bear 100

Of all the 100 mile races I've done, I've never tackled an elevation profile like this one. I was terrified that I wouldn't be in good enough shape to handle it. Since this was the last race in my "Potentially Painful Summer" I really wanted to do well. My A Goal was to break 24 hours, a task that I knew would not be easy.

I felt very rested from Leadville, which was five weeks ago. I had many very good runs, and felt like I had lots of "pep in my step" on my trail runs. I was refreshed because the bugs were finally gone from the woods and almost every run had been on trails. It is amazing how much less the trails beat you up than the roads. My last long run was at Pats Peak where I did a bunch of loops and felt awesome. I left Wednesday afternoon full of confidence.

I wouldn't have Amy and Barry, my supercrew, for this race and that worried me a bunch. They know almost by telepathy what I need at these races and take awesome care of me. My original plan was to just make drop bags and do my best with no crew or pacer. But thanks to Facebook an old friend of mine, Scott Johnson, whom I hadn't seen since grade school reached out to me and offered to help.

I warned him multiple times how much being a crew member sucked, but he insisted that he was into it. His boss does triathalons and he helps there. He figured it would be kind of the same thing, just for WAY longer.

Scott, whom I hadn't seen for almost 30 years!!

I flew into Salt Lake City UT on Wednesday and stayed overnight in a hotel near the airport. In the morning I saw Scott for the first time in 29 years. After grabbing breakfast we headed to the local running store where I picked up a new pair of Hoka's just in case my foot got worse. Oh yeah, I forgot to put in that little tidbit. In the week before the race I noticed that my left foot felt like it was bruised under the forefoot. I figured that I must have stepped on a rock and bruised it, but it wasn't getting any better. On one of my visits to my PT, Brett Copeland, I casually mentioned it to him. After he examined my foot he got a very worried look on his face and immediately sent me to get x-rays. He suspected that I had either a stress reaction or a stress fracture and wanted to see if he could see anything.

He looked at the x-rays and couldn't see anything but told me that it didn't mean I didn't have a stress fracture. He told me to be carefull and mindfull of the pain and asked me to keep him posted. This sat fairly heavily on my mind because the next day I ran 4 miles and it started hurting only 2 miles into the run.

I tried not to worry about it. Sometimes our minds have a way of making a big deal out of nothing and I didn't want to focus more energy on it. I got the Hokas because of the awesome cushioning and hoped that if I had a problem they would help me get through the race.

After that we drove two hours to Logan where we found our hotel. After prepping my drop bags we headed over to the RD's house which was actually a fish hatchery. We dropped off our bags and then attended the pre-race meeting. The only person I knew at this race was Steve Pero, a long time Ultra runner whom I hadn't seen in a couple of years.

The meeting was so cool. Totally old school. No weigh in. No media. No hype. To get your race number you found the bag on the grass that had your number on it. I loved it. Scott and I grabbed dinner afterwards and I headed to an early sleep. Scott and I were getting along great. It was like we never lost touch. Say what you want about Facebook, but the fact that I could reconnect with an old friend whom I might never had seen again is a result of the incredible global community that they have created.

The morning of the race was beautiful. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was comfortably cool. The race starts out by heading up a paved road for about a mile then hits the trail and goes up from there. Look at the race profile. As we headed up the trail in the dark I started to realize that it was not as steep as I expected. It was kind of cool. Everybody was marching up the moutain and almost nothing was being said. All you could hear was breathing. I'm not that social at these events, I tend to just focus on what I'm trying to do. It was nice and peaceful and I found that my spirits were extremely high. When the sun finally started to rise I could see that we were climbing up a beautiful singletrack surrounded by fall foliage. Now this is what I came for. My legs felt strong, my mind felt calm. Perfect.

On all my previous 100's I carried my voice recorder. Today I decided that I would film videos with my camera so everybody could see what I was going through rather than just hear it. At 2 hours and 36 minutes, right after my first stop at mile 10 or so, I recorded that my foot felt good and it was warming up. During the stop I quickly grabbed an extra gel, at a handfull of nuts, refilled my handheld bottle and was off. I spent less than 2 minutes there. "So far so good" I said as I continued on my trek.

The views were incredible.

At 10:15, after 4 hours and 15 minutes, I pulled into the Leathan Hollow aid station, 19.66 miles into the race. This was the first crewed aid station and the first time that I saw Scott. For his first time ever witnessing an event like this, let along crewing, Scott did great at the first stop. He changed the bladder in my pack and replaced all my needed food with incredible efficiency. I drank a Boost, ate some food at the aid station table while tended to my pack. It was an awesome stop. Total time in the aid station was 2 minutes. Not bad for a rookie!

I headed out down a dirt road that was fairly level and shortly was at the next aid station at mile 22.5. I really don't understand why this station was here. Perhaps because the next one was so far away. Right out of the aid station I started to climb and climb. The sun was now out in full force and I quickly went from doing great to feeling like something was very wrong. At 5 hours and 42 minutes into the race I recorded that it was hot and I was completely exhausted. I was in a bad place and it was way to early to feel this way. I couldn't seem to find the motivation and it felt like there was no meaning to being out here starting to suffer already.

The next time I took out my camera things were not any better. It was less than 30 miles into the race and I said that I felt like I did at mile 70 of Leadville. I wasn't able to run and I didn't know what was the matter. I didn't know if it was my head or my body. I said that "I sure as hell hope it's my body. I'd hate to think it is just my head". I was trying to get my head back to just enjoying the day and the scenery, but the idea of possibly walking for 70 miles was incredibly unappealing. I was already starting to think about dropping and I was fighting to keep the thought out of my head. I was really worried at how I was going to tell everybody who has been so supportive of me that I just didn't "Man up" and finish. The thought of a sub 24 hour buckle to add to my collection was long gone. It was early in the say and I was trying not to admit that I was already in survival mode.

At 6 hours and 56 minutes into the race I had just left the 30 mile aid station. Lo and behold, I was starting to come around. Scott got me quickly in and out again and I changed into my Hokas. The terrain had been much rockier than I had expected and my feet were starting to get sore in the NB MT110's that I was wearing. I really didn't want to change out of those shoes, I love how they feel and I didn't even have the beginning of any blisters. I had been though several small streams and they drained the water really well. I knew that it was a risk putting on my new Hoka Bondi B's, but they offered so much protection I figured why not?

The pattern at the Bear is that you climb forever, reach a peak then descend forever. I had been feeling destroyed on the climbs and then slowly coming back to life on the downhills. One thing that was new for me was the descents went on for miles. It was hard on the quads, but I wasn't having trouble with them. I was however having trouble with the heat. I've been to some hot races and the heat has never bothered me before. For some reason, it was today.

At 8 hours 45 minutes into the race I had just left the mile 36.6 aid station. Once again, I wasn't doing that well. I was having a hard time eating. Everything just was too sweet and combined with the heat I was having a hard time choking down anything. I was tired, not feeling good and once again my thoughts returned to asking why? Why was I out here? I didn't have anything left to prove to anybody, including myself. I just didn't have any motivation and was tired. I was hoping that I would just wake up and things would get better, but it just wasn't happening.

To try to change my mood I started taking pictures of myself. I was hoping that if I found my sense of humor I might pull out of my funk.

Sad Nate

Grumpy Nate

Alas, it was not to be. At the 9 1/2 hour mark I sat down in the brushes beside the trail and recorded this.

This was my moment of truth. At this very moment I decided that I was done. I figure that I was somewhere around 41 miles into the race. I still had to go 5.5 miles to get to the next aid station. I was traveling somewhere around 2-3 miles and hour and this is the view as far as the eye could see.

Although beautiful, it was totally overwhelming. There was nobody around me, no end to the trail in sight and almost no shade to be found. As I continued to walk for another hour I started to realize that I hadn't been eating anything. Everything I had with me was sweet. I couldn't tolerate them. The sports drink in my bottle was hot and disgusting so the only thing I could do was sip the Gatorade in my hydration pack as it was still somewhat less than boiling in temperature.

At some point I realized that I had an EFS flask in the back of my pack. I have never used it but had read that a lot of people used it. I bought some to keep with me just in case. Well, this was that just in case moment. As I took the first swig of it I couldn't believe how bad the stuff was. It tasted like Vicks cough syrup. The bottle is 4 or 5 oz. I managed to get most of it down. In a few moments the trail dumped out to a dirt road that was gradual downhill. I started to run again which felt great. Perhaps I could actually pull out of this tailspin I was in. At the bottom of the hill, right as a trail started, I was overwhelmed with nausea.

I actually started to chuckle. Perfect, just perfect. I took out my camera and began to film. Luckily I didn't actually throw up, but there was a few minutes that I was sure I was going to.

Eventually, after 11 hours and 15 minutes I made it to the aid station 46.6 miles in where Scott was waiting for me. I told him that I was done. He asked if I was sure, which I was. I went to the scoring desk and said "522, dropping". Without so much as a "are you sure?" they said ok. And with that I had now officially quit my first 100 mile race.

I learned more from this race than all the other successful ones this year. I realized that you can't get anything in this world unless you really want it. If you lose your desire for something it just won't happen. My body certainly could have finished this race. My head didn't. At that time I just could not find the reason to keep pushing on.

I've read from many other Ultrarunners that you better have your head ready before you tackle one of these things. Now I finally know what they are talking about. They are never easy and when you have to dig deep you need to have that driving reason front and center in your mind. I will use this lesson in so many aspects of my life before I start something now. When a person is focused and motivated they can do anything. When the focus isn't there it becomes almost impossible.

I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself gazing at the mountains as I drove from Logan to Salt Lake City the next day. After struggling so much in the race, all I wanted to do was pull over and go for a run on those mountain trails. At that moment I realized that I had forgotten how much I love to run. Perhaps if I had just remembered that during the race things would have turned out differently.

Done, Done on to the next one.

2011-09-15T20:01:00.000-04:00

Actually the title should read Done, Done, (Done) on to the next one, but that wouldn't be the Foo Fighters lyrics would it?

Dave Grohl - the Foo Fighters rock!

In a little over a week I'll be at the starting line of my fourth 100 mile race since June. The Bear 100 is located in the Wasatch Mountain range of Utah. On paper, it looks to be the hardest race of the year by far. The elevation gain/loss is somewhere in the 21500ft range and although the elevation isn't as high as Leadville (what is?) it is still over 9000 and the air is thinner than my sea-level body is used to.

Wasatch Mountains in Logan UT where the Bear 100 starts

I head into the race with a lot of mixed emotions. Although I'm feeling great physically, my head is a little twisted. I felt great heading into Leadville and then completely hit the wall somewhere between 75 and 80 miles into it. That has never happened to me before. At every 100 before that, the last 20 miles are usually where I make up the most ground. When most around me are slowing down, I play "energizer bunny" and just keep going and going and going. While I certainly don't speed up, my secret is that I don't really slow down. Leadville was a completely different experience and it has me wondering if the effects of not having enough time to recover were the reason.

As I usually do, I have been wondering how much of it was my head and how much of it was really physical. I tried to run many times over those last tough miles, but I only could go 6 or 7 strides and then had to revert back to walking. I was pretty drained. Hopefully the five weeks between Leadville and this final race (yes, I still am running 124 miles across the state three weeks after this race) will find me in better shape for that last push to the finish line at the Bear.

I had several goals as I started this project. Obviously the most important goal was to write about the process of tackling a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and share it with anybody who might be interested. The idea that putting myself through this much pain becomes much more managable knowing that it might inspire somebody to take that first step towards accomplishing a life long dream.

My other goals I outlined for my coach Jack when we figuring out my training program at the start. I told him that my A list of goals was to buckle (sub 24 hour except leadville where it is sub 25) at all four races, do VT in less than 20 hours and then finish the entire run across NH (124 miles). So far I'm pretty close. I finished VT in 20 hours and 52 minutes due to some long pit stops to fix bad blisters. Besides that, I have got the buckle at all the races. This means that once again I'm putting unnessisary pressure on myself going into a race. I really, really want to break 24 hours at the Bear. It is not going to be easy. Last year only 17 runners did. I have compared their times at the Bear to the other races I've done this year and most of them are faster than me. I'm going to have to spend much less time in the aid stations and push much harder. I've been trying to gear my head up to be ready to deal with a lot of pain.

2011 Western States 100, Vermont 100, Leadville Trail 100 Buckles

As many of you know, my original plan was to run the "Grand Slam" of Ultrarunning. It consists of Western States 100, Vermont 100, Leadville 100 and the Wasatch 100. Because I missed the deadline for the lottery I wasn't allowed to run Wasatch. I chose the Bear because it is in the same Wasatch mountains and only two weeks after. It is not as hard of a race as Wasatch, but about as close as I can get.

Here's the kicker...up until Wasatch I had the fastest combined time for the first three races. If I had been able to enter Wasatch and finished in less than 31 hours I would have won the slam! It's kind of a bummer, but it doesn't really matter. It would have been nice to have the big Eagle trophy though. Congrats to my buddy Adam Bechtel for winning the slam. He's a super nice guy that I had the privilige of running with a bit this year.

So if you know me or work with me please bear with me for the next week. I'm going out of my mind preparing for the race. You would think that by now I would know exactly how to tackle another one. But being completely OCD and ADD I'm caught up in just figuring out all the details. Ultimately none of that will matter. It really comes down to something very simple, just putting one foot in front of the other and keep moving forward at all cost. I can't wait to see those beautiful mountains and test my physical and mental abilities one more time. Thanks again to everybody who has given me so much support and followed me on this journey.

What am I trying to prove?

2011-09-03T22:27:00.000-04:00

As I was sitting on the porch tonight enjoying a Cigar and talking with Amy I had a mini-epiphany. We were talking about eating habits and I was trying to explain my (relatively little) understanding of neural associations to her. I was saying that sometimes the tiniest event creates a small neural association and if that association gets reinforced it eventually becomes a habit, identity, etc. As it continues to get reinforced it becomes a defining characteristic of that person until that person recognises it and chooses to change that association (if they want to). It is a more technical way of looking at addictions or habits and sometimes it helps me recognize behaviors that I'm repeating and helps me understand what is happening. It is also very empowering knowing that there is a technical/physical phenomenon taking place and it is not all based on emotion.

As we were talking I said to her "something that I have never gotten over is that I don't think that I'm tough enough". It hit me at that moment that it might be why I run Ultras. And even though I can run and suffer through 100 miles at a time I still don't think I'm tough. I know a lot of people that are a lot tougher. I admire people who have the ability to triumph in the face of adversity. I admire people who can push through lots of pain. I've never really considered myself one of those people. I'm still trying to prove that I'm tough. More than anybody else, I'm really trying to prove it to myself.

As we talked more it came out that I was picked on a lot when I was growing up. I've always chalked it up to part of growing up. Doesn't everybody get picked on? I wasn't even five feet tall when I turned 13. I was always really skinny. And even though I rode my bicycle a million hours a day and was in very good shape, I never pictured myself as strong.

On an almost daily basis my neighbor beat me up. He was a big lug of a kid who didn't know his own strength. For the most part I could handle the actual physical pain, although I sure as hell didn't like it. The part I've never gotten over is the emotional part. He used to do things like pin me and then push his thumb into my eye. Not being able to defend myself was always the part that got me so pissed off. Feeling like a pussy is not fun. Looking back at it now it makes perfect sense why I have to be the boss. I learned through those early lessons that I don't like not being in control. Those closest to me know that the one thing that completely drives me insane is when I feel like I'm being taken advantage of. Before tonight I've never put the two together.

As I head into the last two runs of the Potentially Painful Summer, the Bear 100 in three weeks and then my 124 mile run across the state I know that I still need to prove to myself that I am tough enough. When things get hard I'm going to think of my neighbor. I'm going to think about how he would be doing if he was attempting to run 100 miles. And I'm going to be tough.

*Warning - the video below is not PC (but it is funny as hell)

2011 Leadville 100 Race Report

2011-09-01T19:35:00.001-04:00

3,2,1 Go!!

I was surprised at how calm I was. For the last few days I was actually itching to run. Having a full five weeks between races had been much better to me than the short three weeks between Western States and Vermont. I felt rested and ready to go.

Last year I flew out a week ahead of time to acclimate. Since I really didn't have any trouble with the altitude I decided to just come out on Thursday this year. Amy and I took a bumpy flight from Manchester to Denver where we met my brother Barry at the airport. I was really psyched to have both of them as my crew. This would be the fourth time they have crewed me together and they know exactly how to take care of me.

So here I am, at 4 in the morning, lined up with 650 other runners about to head down the hill on sixth street in Leadville Colorado. As we took off I felt elated. My body felt strong, but I couldn't help but wonder how I would hold up. Three 100 milers in three months. At what point would my body decide enough is enough? Or would I actually start adapting and getting stronger? Since this is all new to me I had no idea.

New Balance MT110's

As we headed down the road and onto the dirt road towards the lake I concentrated on keeping my heart rate low and my stride light. I had taken a big risk and started the race in a pair of New Balance MT110 early production shoes that I had just received a week before. The longest run I had used them on was 7 miles. I also started in a new type of sock, the Wright Sock, a double layer thinner sock. There is a very common warning that all runners give each other. Don't ever try something new on race day. I threw caution to the wind as I needed to try to do something different to fix the constant blister problem that I have with 100 mile runs. Plus, I absolutely love these shoes. My only concern was that they wouldn't offer me enough cushioning for the full 100 miles. I really didn't think it was that much of a risk because my crew had my Altra's and Dyrmax socks ready for me at each aid station in case I needed them. My plan was to just wear them until there was a problem and then change back into what I knew from there.

I made my way around the lake feeling great. As the trail dumped out onto the road into the first aid station, Mayqueen (mile 13) I looked at my watch and was shocked to see 1:56. Holy crap. Last year I pulled in at 2:08 and I was strong last year!! I ran through the timing section while looking for my crew. They had done the same thing they did last year, bought a bright orange bicycle flag so I could pick them out. It was dawn and the crowd was very loud. I couldn't see them! I ran all the way to the end of the crews and had to turn around and go back to find them.

My mood quickly turned from elation of being so much quicker to slight panic of not being able to find my crew. Every body kept asking me what I needed as I was running backwards against the crowd. I finally saw them, standing three people deep. They seemed shocked to see me. They had been listening to the announcers who had been calling out the runners numbers, but they just didn't hear my number called.

I have to admit, I wasn't in a very good mood at that point. As I grumbled and Amy refilled my gels, Barry struggled to get my water bottle back into the handheld. I grabbed it from him and did it myself. I knew I was behaving like a child, but I was frustrated. As I bolted out of the aid station I realized that I still had my headlight and my winter had on. Damn... That meant I needed to carry the headlight for the next 10 miles until I saw them again at the Fish Hatchery.

As I headed into the Colorado Trail I mellowed out. I still felt awesome and I knew that having my hat and headlight on was no big deal. I forgot all about them and went about running up the rocky climb to the road towards Powerline. As the sun came up I got an incredible view of Silver Lake and then started my decent down Powerline. A few runners passed me as I was being careful and deliberate. I wanted to be sure not to blow my quads out as there was lots of downhill running still to come.

Before long I was out on the road heading to Fish Hatchery, which now has been renamed to "outbound". The station is about 23 miles into the race and I left at a hair under 4 hours. For the next four miles the course is a flat paved road and you can see almost the entire 4 miles in front of you. It is a mental drain to run this section, but I knew that I had to run every step of it because this is where you make up the time that is lost on some of the tough, slow climbs. I put my head down and went to work. In my voice recorder I stated that I felt really good and that I hoped that things would stay this way.

At Vermont I fell apart at mile 21, or about three hours in. I was hoping that I wouldn't have a low point like that and so far so good. It wasn't much after 5 hours that I hit the 30 mile mark. I knew that I was moving well but I didn't know where I was in relationship to last year. The weather was beautiful and I was enjoying the run, even if I was feeling a little low on energy.

Taking the time to get the grit out of my shoes really paid off

At 7 hours and 2 minutes I had just left Twin Lakes, Mile 39.5. My crew switched me from two handheld bottles to my Nathan backpack and I was off to tackle Hope Pass. I was still wearing the NB MT110's and I was psyched at how good they felt. No blisters yet and my feet felt great. The only downside was that I had to take the shoes off at each stop and remove the grit from them. It didn't take long to do and it seemed worth it for what a great fit and feel they had.

As I crossed through the freezing cold streams and headed out towards Hope I was noticing that I was starting to get tired. Not really a big surprise, as running 40+ miles in the high elevation Rockies is sure to make almost anybody tired. It was now hot and sunny without a cloud in the sky. It was a perfect day to tackle Hope pass.

At 8 hours and 20 minutes into the race I pulled out my recorder as I passed by a beautiful babbling brook on the way up Hope. I said "This thing is a KILLER!, I'm not even at the tree line yet and I am TIRED!!, Holy crap, this thing just keeps going up and up and up. I am really worked over and I still have the steepest part to go. My God, I'm getting worked over here...."

Audio of me struggling up Hope Pass

It was at this point that I started to notice something that had me very concerned. The tendinitis in my ankle was really starting to flare up. It hadn't bothered me for months and now only 45 miles into the race it was throbbing. In the past when this happened it got worse and worse until it eventually stopped me. I was scared that I was going to have to deal with this pain on top of another 55 more miles of running.

The Llamas at Hopeless

At the Hopeless Aid station (mile 45) I quickly drank some broth, filled my one handheld bottle and headed out to tackle the last 600 feet of the climb. At this point you are above the tree line and the terrain has turned from beautiful woods to a rocky wasteland. It looks like the moon. The elevation here is somewhere around 11,500 and the top of Hope is 12,500.

I got to the top of Hope at exactly 9 hours. I took a few seconds to look around, then started to run down the steep switchbacks that lead down to Winfield. I noticed that there were some clouds forming and I knew that I needed to get my but moving if I wanted to get back over Hope before the typical later afternoon storms blew in. Traveling down the backside of Hope was a blast. The top part of the trail is rocky switchbacks that are runnable. About halfway down the terrain gets very rocky and the last mile or so goes back under the cover of trees, but is very, very steep.

As I was heading down the leaders were just about done with the return trip climb. This is where I get to see how far behind the leaders I was. At this point I was at least 3 hours behind them. Amazing. As I passed a LaSportiva sponsored runner he looked up from the ground and said, "Hey, where did you get those shoes!?!" He was the only one who noticed all day.

As I got to the bottom of the pass and headed out on the dirt road towards Winfield I couldn't help but think that it was almost a carbon copy of last years race for me. The weather was almost exactly the same, I was running in the same spots, I was walking in the same spots and I was roughly at the same exact time. The run up the road seemed easier than last year, and a little less dusty too. The sun was beating down and I was starting to get tired.

At Winfield

I pulled into Winfield at 2:15, or 10 hours and 15 minutes into the race. I weighed in at the medical check to find that I was only 2 pounds lighter than my start weight, which was a good sign. I was keeping up with my eating and drinking. I went over to Amy and Barry's area to eat, drink and restock up my hydration pack. I sat in the chair to clean out my shoes and then realized how tired I was. The sun was beating down on me as Amy put some sunscreen on my back. Barry held an umbrella over me and that helped a lot. I ate a Turkey and Avocado sandwich, drank a Vespa and took one 500mg Tylenol (first one of the day). I spent about 10 minutes there and then it was time to go. I really didn't want to leave. Amy walked with me to the end of the aid station and down the road a little bit. Just as she had turned around I remembered that I wanted to start listening to music. I called back to her asking if she had put it in my pack and she said that she didn't. Oh well, no biggie I thought. I can always just pick it up when I see them the next time.

I ran for the next couple miles down the road and I had just taken the left turn through the parking lot that leads to the beginning of the climb when I heard Amy yelling at me. She had come back with my Ipod!! Sweet!! It was so nice having it and seeing her again so quickly. Now I was ready to rock back up Hope.

Alas, it was not to be. I was doing no Rockin! Last year this is the place that I really started to fade. This year was no different. This climb is so hard and steep. I was stumbling up it, but unlike last year when a lot of people went by me, almost everybody around me was in the same condition. Most worse. Within a mile I had seen people just stopping dead to sit down and others puking their brains out. The guy right in front of my threw up so violently he looked like a fire hydrant. I happened to notice that it was all very clear and I thought to myself, how much water did that guy have to drink to throw all that up? As I passed him I said, "there you go buddy, now you'll feel much better". He grunted at me as I passed and puked again.

I climbed up for what seemed like forever and finally made it to the top at 4:22pm, or 12 hours and 22 minutes into the race. That means that it took me 3 hours and 22 minutes to get from the top of Hope on the outbound to the top on the inbound, which is only about 11 miles!! It was now starting to rain. I thought about putting my Jacket on, but decided to just get moving. I ran down most of the switchbacks to the Hopeless aid station. I stopped and had two cups of noodle soup and a little coke. There were still lots and lots of people coming up Hope and most of them didn't look so good. Some of the runners who were on the way back inbound didn't look so good either.

I was looking forward to this section all day. After all that climbing it is really nice to open up the stride and let it rip. I still didn't have a single blister and that helped my mood considerably, even though I was tired. I cranked up the tunes and let gravity do it's thing. I was singing at the top of my lungs as I FLEW down the trail. I passed a ton of runners and their pacers and just threw caution to the wind. I was having a great time and looking forward to my usual "second wind" that I get as the day wears on.

As I was going through the wet fields heading to Twin Lakes I noticed that I wasn't running as good as last year. Last year this is where I started to get really strong. Now I was struggling to run. I was running behind David Clark and his film crew was running behind me with the camera at our calf level getting footage. I didn't feel like running, but the camera crew was incentive to keep running strong. I pulled into Twin Lakes, 60.5 miles into the race, at 5:44pm. Once again I cleaned out my shoes and switched socks. Amy had a bowl of rice with avocado in it and it was delicious. I ate as much of it as I could. I spent 11 minutes there and then headed towards the short steep climb out.

Amy talking me through a tough patch at Twin Lakes

Amy walked with me. I told her that I wasn't having fun anymore. I was tired. She said that she knew that I wasn't moving as well as last year and that bummed me out. I asked her where she though I was, if I was even in the top 100. She thought I said am I below the top 100 so she said no. I said really? I'm not even in the top 100? That bums me out really bad. Then she looked at me and explained that she meant that I was not OUT of the top 100, I was probably in the top 50 or so still. I gave her a big hug and went back to work. Thank God she explained that to me. I would have spent the next several hours feeling bad for myself.

It turns out that I spent the next several hours just feeling bad. The climb out of Twin Lakes is a long one but once you finally reach the top there is some beautiful single track on the Colorado Trail. It was at this point that I realized that I was having a hard time running. I was running out of energy and I was slowing down. At mile 70 I pulled out my voice recorder and said that I didn't think that I was going to get the big buckle. I couldn't do the math and thought that I only had 7 hours to get the big buckle. I was 16 hours into the run. I eventually realized that I still had 9 hours and decided that I had to harden the f' up and get to it.

I pulled into Treeline, mile 74 at 8:28. It had been dark for about 10 minutes. Last year I got here in the light and it was just getting dark as I left. I couldn't believe that I was only 20-30 minutes behind last year as I was feeling considerably worse. I spent 9 minutes there and headed towards the lonely 4 mile stretch of road towards Fish Hatchery.

I managed to run about 2.5 miles of the 4 miles but by the time I got to the station I was super tired. I changed out of my shoes into my Altras. I still had no blisters, but now that I was walking more the New Balance's were starting to feel thin underfoot and I wanted more cushioning. I was now 76.5 miles into the race and was getting worried. I left the station at 9:44pm and I simply could not run. I only had a little over 7 hours to cover 23.5 miles and I have never been a very strong walker. On top of that, the dreaded Sugarloaf climb was coming up. I knew that I had to cover at least 4 miles an hour to get the big buckle and that just didn't seem like it would happen after I factored in that huge climb.

As I got to the start of Sugarloaf (powerline) I just put my head down and kicked ass. I passed a few people and hoped that when I got to the top I would finally be able to run again. From the top it is mostly downhill and last year I flew through that section. When I finally reached the top I realized that I had made good time and tried to run. I couldn't. I mean, I just could not run. I started to get cold and put on my jacket. Again, I started to get really worried. My A-Goal for this year has been to buckle at all the races. So far I had accomplished that. Last year getting the big buckle had been relatively easy, this year it wasn't feeling so. I wasn't worried about finishing. The only way I wasn't going to finish is if I slowed down radically or had an injury. Even then I vowed that the only way I would quit would be if I missed a cut-off.

Sugarloaf (powerlines) in the daylight. This goes on for almost 3 miles

When I got to the mile or so long stretch before the Colorado trail I finally ran. I passed a few people who had passed me earlier and I thought "finally, I am getting my second wind". It wasn't easy to run, but I hoped that as I did it more I would loosen up. I ran down a small portion of the Colorado trail but from that point I didn't run one more single step of the entire race.

I got to the Mayqueen outbound aid station, mile 86.5 at 12:40. Now I was an hour behind last year and I couldn't run. I kept doing the math. I had 13.5 miles to go and 4:20 to get the big buckle. I can do this. Even walking. I put my head down and walked as fast as I could. A ton of people passed me as I made my way around the lake. I tried not to let it bum me out. At this point I didn't care what place I finished in. I just wanted to cross that line in under 25 hours.

It took me a little more than 1.5 hours to get to the boat ramp, the unofficial aid station between Mayqueen and the finish. My understanding of the course has always been that the boat ramp is about 6 miles past Mayqueen. I realized that if I could keep this pace up I could get the buckle. I don't know why I thought it, but I kept thinking that it was only about 6 more miles to go. I walked hard. My hip flexor hurt. I now had blisters and they hurt. I was so tired when I stopped it felt like the ground was moving. A few times when I got off the trail to let people by I completely lost my balance just trying to stand still. I had stopped eating. And the only thing I cared about was keeping moving forward as fast as I could.

I got to the dirt road ("the boulevard") heading back into town and turned off my headlamp. The half moon was beautiful and the sky was clear with only a few clouds. I couldn't believe how lucky we were. The forecast had called for thunderstorms. I was beat up and exhausted but I had the bit between my teeth and was going to get than damn buckle.

At the first road intersection I couldn't see where to go so I asked a lady who was parked there which way to go. After she showed me I asked her how much further I had. She said about 5 miles. 5 MILES!!!?? I said "NO, can't be, the boat ramp is only 6 miles and I was there a couple miles ago". I must have caught her off guard with the quickness of my answer, or maybe she was just tired, but she then said to me, "YES, I've done this race 8 times and the boat ramp is 8 miles from the end, YOUR WRONG". It took everything I had not to call her an arrogant bitch. Knowing that I was in a pretty raw state, I decided it was best just to ignore her and get out of there.

It took a lot of wind out of my sails. I can't remember how much time I had left at that point but I remember saying out loud "I'm not going to make it". There was nothing I could do but to just keep going as fast as I could. I tried to run, but once again I could only go a few steps. I've never not been able to run before. It was frustrating.

It wasn't too much later that I turned onto 6th street and finally realized that I was going to make it. People along the street didn't even realize I was a runner because I was walking. It's funny, but running down that street in the morning seemed to take about 3 minutes. Walking up it took me forever!! As I approached the finish line Amy appeared with a huge smile. I walked it in with her and crossed the line with her at my side. 24 hours and 34 minutes in 74th place. Merelee placed the finishers medal on my neck and I was done. It was a very anticlimactic finish to an incredible day, but my A-Goal for the Potentially Painful Summer was still intact. I got the big buckle!!

Amy and I at the finish

I learned so much that day. I had to learn to be patient. These races aren't always going to be about running towards the front. Sometimes you just don't have your best day. But I was very proud of myself for not ever giving up. In having pride in finishing what I started to do, regardless of what the result was. Once again I owe everything to the support I received from Amy and Barry. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart.

All that just for this?? The Big Buckle!

Shoe Review - New Balance MT110

2011-08-25T21:03:00.000-04:00

This winter New Balance posted on Facebook that they were looking for Ultra runners to participate in a focus group. I emailed back with my running resume and was invited to participate in the group. A few weeks later I gathered up 4 pairs of running shoes, including one pair of NB's that I modified to drop the heel and headed to Boston for an evening meeting.

Custom "Zero Dropped" NB's that I made

I didn't know what to expect, but was greeted by a team of NB designers, marketers and executives to discuss what hardcore Ultrarunners wanted from their shoes. I felt like a dork bringing 4 different shoes, but was pleasantly surprised to see that every other runner brought a minimum of 2 pairs. Most brought at least 4 like I did.

The folks from NB asked us a ton of questions about what type of running we did, what type of races we did, what types of shoes we wore for what type of races and why. They asked us about our needs and wants and were genuinely interested in what we had to say. The Minimus line was just about to be released and many of us wanted desperately to get a pair of the shoes that were unavailable.

I was seated next to Bryan Gothie who is an Outdoor Product manager. When it was my turn to describe my ultimate shoe I said that I wanted a shoe that was flexible, lightweight, drained well, less than 4mm heel drop and had enough protection to run 100 miles. Bryan smiled and said, "Wait until you see what we are building for Anton, I think your going to like it".

It turns out that they were talking about the NB MT110, the next generation of the MT101. Recently Bryan sent me a pair of the early production MT110s. I am blown away by what they have produced. As much as I enjoy my beloved Altra Instincts, these might be the best shoes I've ever worn.

New Sole with better traction than MT101

I received them the week before Leadville and ran every daily run in them. The longest run I did in them before the race was only 7 miles but I decided to start Leadville in them and then simply change out of them when they became to "thin" or if I had problems.

Here is the short story... I ran the first 70 miles of Leadville in them. I had zero blisters. That's right, zero. Long time readers of my blog will know that my biggest problem with running 100 mile races is that I suffer terrible blisters. I have always said that if I could just find a way to avoid getting blisters I would enjoy these races soooo much more.

Me leaving Twin Lakes outbound (mile 60) having a moment with Amy in my MT110's

The best description I can give for these shoes is that they simply disappear on my feet when running. I feel like I'm running barefoot, but don't have any of the issues I normally have with "barefoot" running shoes. I love the way the NB minimus feels on my feet, but the Vibram sole is simply to firm for me to run longer than 15 miles. I get numbness in my toes and wish I had more protection when running rocky trails. I know some barefoot guys get all uppity about "feel" with their barefoot shoes, but frankly I think that rocks hurt. Call me a sissy, I don't care. I never had to pussy foot over rocks with these shoes.

I have been searching for a perfect balance of barefoot feel and all day protection. The MT110s have it. Here are some of the technical specs of the shoes.

Weight - Mens size 9 - 7.7 oz
Stack Height - 19mm Heel/15mm toe
Heel drop - 4mm (duh...)
Rockplate - full (I found the rockplate to be more flexible than that MT101, but still very adequate)
Removable Footbed - no
Traction - 1 million times better than the MT101.
Heelcup - perfect. Long gone is the semi rigid foam Achilles cutter.
Last - same as the Minimus
Toe box - room to fully splay
Availability - January 2012
Multiple widths - yes!

Minimal Upper, real cushioning and protection!

Nice soft heel cup that dissapears when on your foot.

My only complaint with the shoe was that a fair amount of grit and dirt got into the shoe. It would be awesome if it had a lasted tongue to keep the grit out. I found the shoes a tad bit thin for the full 100 mile distance, but that might also be my feet not being used to them. I would never even consider wearing a traditional barefoot shoe like the Merrill or Five Fingers for a 100, so don't think I'm one of "those guys".

I would call my first long distance (70 miles) run in these shoes to be nothing less than a miracle. No blisters, perfect comfort, enough protection to go flying down the rocky backside of Hope MT at full pace and incredible fit. I saw a ton of people wearing MT101's at Leadville. I felt bad for them. These shoes are so much better.

No shoe is perfect, these are pretty damn close.

Reaching our Potential

2011-08-23T19:53:00.000-04:00

View from top of Hope Pass

First of all, I'd like to say thanks to everybody who has been so supportive of the Potentially Painful Summer. This weekend I ran my third 100 in as many months, the Leadville Trail 100. This was the toughest 100 for me ever. I ended up walking for the last 20 miles but still ended up finishing in 74th place out of 650 starters. My finishing time was 24 hours and 34 minutes. I kept my "A-Goal" of buckling at all of my races so far, but it wasn't easy. I will be writing a full race report shortly.

Until then, there is a subject that is so near and dear to my heart that I feel it is one of the core things that defines me as a human. I have not written too much about it on my blog because of something that happened years ago with my friend, "Sherpa" John Lacroix. I now realize that not writing about something that is so important to me is silly. This is my blog, I can write about anything that I want.

On one of our first runs together, when we were just getting to know each other, I shared with John how the one thing that really frustrates me is when somebody doesn't see the same potential in themselves that I see in them. I told him how I thought that my life would have so much more meaning if I could inspire somebody to realize that those dreams they have are actually attainable. If I could do that, I would be able to leave this life feeling that I had contributed something really substantial.

Not very long after that conversation, John changed the name of his blog to "Sherpa John: Human Potential". I was pretty upset, but I also understood that I certainly wasn't the first to feel this way about our potential to accomplish big goals. In fact, I bet that almost anybody who has run 100 miles probably feels the same way. John's blog gets a lot more traffic than mine and I felt like I couldn't write about this passion of mine without people thinking that I was plagiarizing him. Whenever I wrote about it I was very careful to phrase it a different way.

I felt like this robbed me of one of my deepest beliefs. Not long ago I finally told John how I felt. It was good to get it off my chest, but I still felt like he took one of the most important things away from me. During our conversation John told me that of course our conversation had influenced him. He said something to the extent of "Isn't that what happens all the time with deep conversations like those? Aren't we all just taking the things that strike us as important and incorporating them into who we are?" I realized that rather than being upset, I should be flattered that I was able to speak with enough passion to influence somebody close to me. Isn't that exactly what I was trying to do? I think my real problem is that I was jealous that he ran with the idea and wrote about it more eloquently than I did.

As I was thinking about writing this, something struck me. The word "potential" is almost patronizing. If you really believe that you can do anything you decide to do, do you ever reach your potential? Once you accomplish that big goal, isn't there always the next step or goal? By saying that you haven't reached your potential aren't you really saying that your not good enough as you are? I realized that it is more about your mindset as far as what you decide to accomplish than what your potential is. Every single one of us has the potential to get more out of this life than we currently have, no matter what you have or what you have accomplished so far.

I really think that we have unlimited potential. I am a big believer that once we decide to accomplish something and attack it with a relentless burning passion, nothing can stand in our way. I hope that in some small way I might provide the tipping point for somebody to go after their dream. That would be realizing MY potential.

Two Weeks 'till Leadville

2011-08-07T18:59:00.000-04:00

Obligatory town of Leadville picture

Its hard to believe that it's been almost three weeks since I've written anything. It is even harder to believe that in only 2 weeks I'll be toeing the line for another 100 mile race. Last year Leadville was my only 100 and I absolutely loved it. The town is cool, the people were nice and the course wasn't nearly as tough as all the hype had me believing. I feel much less stressed about doing the race than last year, even though my body has been through a lot more. Last year I was well rested and trained and I finished in a little over 23 hours. This year, who knows? It would be nice to get a sub-hour buckle again, but I'll settle for anything that is an official finish (under 30 hours).

I recovered really well from the VT100. It was actually strange. I had almost no soreness and was able to show up bright and early Monday for work without the usual "crab walk" that usually happens. The week after VT I ran 29 miles, the next week 54 miles and this week was a hair under 60. The running streak is still alive too. As of today I have run 223 days in a row for a total of 2379 miles. I think that if I get to one year I'll take a day off and kill the streak. It is becoming a "thing" and I don't want it to turn into something that I "have" to do.

Last Sunday I ran the "Mansfield Loop" with an incredible group from Vt. It is a 26 mile loop that has everything from trails to fire roads to rocky trails on "the chin" at Mount Mansfield. Along with my coach, Jack Pilla, there was Aliza Lapierre, Nick Yardley, Todd Archambault, Serena Wilcox, Scott and Joyce Holsten and Bob Ayers, Jr. I was actually nervous to run with this group, even though they are all friends of mine. They are a speedy group and I haven't been feeling so speedy lately, just tired.

Speedy group, taking a break.

After 12 miles we were at the base of the Mt. Mansfield access road. It is a steep 4.5 mile auto road with no breaks. I got about 1/2 a mile up it and just blew up. I was completely wiped out. My legs wouldn't move and I just couldn't run.

Much steeper than it looks

I felt terrible and was worried about being "that guy" who everybody had to wait for. I realized that we were at about 3 hours into the run, which was exactly the same time I blew up at the VT100. About halfway up Nick saw that I was struggling and hung back and walked with me. This was the first time I've really had the chance to talk with him and it really helped. He offered to run with me back to the parking lot when we got to the top, as I had absolutely no idea how to get back.

When we got to the top the entire group was hanging around chatting and there was no pressure to hurry up and continue. Jack gently refused to let me leave and after eating and taking a rest I decided to continue. As we started the more rocky trail and we switched to a faster hike/occasional run I felt better. The rest of the run was a blast and the views from the top of Mansfield were incredible. After making it back to the parking lot we took a quick dip and all met at the local store for sandwiches and ice creams. The total trip took 6.5 hours and was a blast.

View from the top of Mt. Mansfield

Todd coming down one of the ladders

This last week we spent at the beach in Ogunquit Maine. Since I'm not much of a beach goer I spent most of the early part of the days riding my bike and going for short runs. I discovered some great roads right outside of town and really enjoyed riding. Right now I'm having a little bit of a hard time finding the motivation to run. The biking really helps break it up a bit. In the evenings we had a blast goofing around, going to nice restaurants and partaking in a drink or two.

Max

Izzy

Today for my long run Jack had instructed me to run 30 miles of "Big Hills". He wanted me to do some mountain hiking/running to help prepare me for the upcoming race. I couldn't find anybody who wanted to join me for a Pemi-loop of in the presi's so I decided to go to Pats Peak.

I've posted here before about running there. The Mountain Bike course is 5.15 miles and each loop has about 1000 ft of elevation. Not as tough as the White Mountains, but I figured it would do. The plan was to do 6 loops. I have never done more than 4 so I knew it would be a big undertaking. I started off well, running the entire first loop, but I quickly knew that it wasn't in me to do the full pull. I ended up doing 3.5 loops plus a power hike up the steep access road. It came to a little more than 20 miles and took me almost 4 hours. I called it a day and for the first time in a long time I actually listened to my body and didn't push it.

So its time to taper, rest my tired body and get ready to take on the altitude in Colorado. Part three of the Potentially Painful Summer, here I come!

Vermont 100 Race Report

2011-07-19T19:00:00.001-04:00

This is my coach "helping" me the night before the race.

As coach Jack was pouring another cup of Tequila for me the thought just barely entered my mind that it might not be a good idea to drink this much 8 hours before the start of my second 100 mile race of the year. I usually completely stop or severely cut back on my drinking in the weeks leading up to a race. What I discovered at Western States was that a few beers the night before a race helps me get a good nights sleep. I guess I took that idea a little bit to far as I was now 4 hard ciders and two shots of Tequila deep. Once more shot of Southern Comfort and I was guaranteed a goods night sleep. Amy warned me. She even tried to stop me.

Me, Ron and Joe talking shoes.

I woke up around midnight to find my air mattress had deflated and I was now on the ground. Amy woke up and insisted that I swap with her. After that I just could not get back to sleep. I gave up at 2:30 and started to get ready for the 4:00 start. I was dizzy and realized that I still had a buzz. I'm an idiot.

Altrokas? Hokaltras?

I put on my new Altra/Hoka hybrid shoes and wondered if I was doing a smart thing. This invention of mine involved cutting a pair of Hoka soles off their uppers and attaching them to a pair of Altra Instincts. I will be doing a more complete blog post shortly explaining why and how I did this. They felt great, but I would shortly learn that it was a dumb decision. I checked in and waited for the start to go off. At exactly 4am we were off. As I headed down the road I concentrated on not getting sucked up with the leaders. Even so, I found myself in the lead group of about 15 or so runners. I made sure to stay within my comfortable pace and was happy that I felt ok.

Amy and I at the start.

In the week leading up to the race I was a mess. My hamstrings were sore and I was completely confused about my strategy for this race. Early in the year coach asked me what my goals were for this year. One of my goals was to finally break 20 hours in a 100 miler. I knew that Vermont was realistically the only place where I would have a chance to do that. What I didn't know is how my body would hold up after running Western States only three weeks ago.

Like I did at Western States, I tucked my voice recorder into the pocket on my bottle holder. As the race wore on I took it out and recorded my thoughts. This race report is a combination of those recordings and the notes my crew took at the aid stations. Speaking of crew, my crew was incredible. The is the third time Amy and Barry have crewed me together. They are perfect. They work well together and always are able to get me exactly what I need at each stop. I can't imagine doing this race without them.

Complaining to coach Jack at mile 21

The first time I saw my crew was at mile 21.1, the "Pretty House" station. I was not in good shape. For the preceding few miles I was feeling terrible. My hamstrings were killing me, I had no energy and I had no strength. It didn't seem related to my pace. I just was beat. Perhaps this is what it feels like to do one of these races without recovering from one three weeks ago. Or perhaps it was the result of the squishy soles of my shoes sucking the life out of my muscles. I had no way of knowing which it was. The one thing that had me seriously concerned was that I was already starting to get blisters. I was trying to figure out how I was going to deal with increasing blister pain for another 80 miles.

The doubts that were filling my mind were soul crushing. For the first time since I made this commitment I considered quitting. I just didn't see how I was going to keep going. I thought about giving up on the entire "Potentially Painful Summer", giving up on writing the book, giving up on the blog. I thought about how I was going to deal with the failure of not completing it. Then, I decided to readjust and just simply stop worrying. I was going through a rough patch that I didn't know if I could pull out of, but I was still moving and I decided that I would keep moving no matter what. The only way I was stopping was if I missed the cutoffs.

Horses racing at the same time make for a great distraction

The thought of missing the cutoffs at mile 21 was ridiculous. I had gone 21 miles in 3 hours 15 minutes. I was by no means going slow, I was just hurting. I decided it was time to just be in the moment and enjoy myself.

I hit the marathon mark at around 4.5 hours. I realized that today was going to be about learning to be patient. Something that I am not. I still had no strength, my hamstrings were killing me, my glutes were killing me and everybody was cruising by me on the uphills. I stated in my voice recorder that I would just see what happened and let the race come to me. In the meantime I tried to smile and keep going. The funny thing is that I wasn't miserable. I was eating well, my stomach never bothered me and I was actually averaging 5 miles an hour, which just so happens to be 20 hour pace.

Mile 30 came at 5 hours 20 minutes. I was now finally starting to feel better. My mood was way better and I was really running the downhills well. At the Stage Road Aid station Amy rolled ice into my bandanna and put it around my neck. It was getting really hot and the ice felt awesome.

My wife Amy is the best!

Mile 40 hit exactly 7 hours into the race. My energy was "extra medium". I took a Tylenol because I was having shooting pains in my hamstrings and the blisters were starting to really hurt. Both my pinkie toes were blistered under the bottoms and the tips and the outside of my big toes had them too. It was now very hot, but luckily it wasn't that humid. I was putting ice into my hat every chance I could and I was dealing with it ok.

First round of blister repair at mile 47

Since I had given up on trying to break 20 hours I decided to change socks and fix my blisters when I rolled into Camp 10 Bear at mile 47.2. I took a 10 minute stop here and lanced and re taped my blisters. I drank a boost, took a Vespa and ate a turkey, cheese and avocado wrap. I also made the decision to switch back to a standard pair of Altra Instinct shoes. I was wondering if the Hoka Soles on my modified shoes were using up more energy than necessary. I was pretty sure that the squishiness of the bottoms was causing unnecessary movement of my feet inside the shoe and that was causing the blisters. I figured that the trade off of having less cushion vs. the blisters getting worse was a good choice.

Altra Instincts - Zero drop + wide toebox = awesome shoe

As soon as I left the aid station and the sting of the popped blisters numbed I realized that I had made a good choice. My stride felt quicker, lighter and needed less energy. I still felt like I wasn't moving that quickly, but I sure did feel better about how I was moving. At a little less than 11 hours I did a three minute stop at the Tracer Brook aid station, mile 57. I got food and quickly headed out for the quick section to Margaritaville, which I pulled into a little over an hour later. It was now 4:06 in the afternoon and it was starting to cool off a bit. Now it was perfectly warm, but not hot.

More ice in the Bandana

At Margaritaville (yes, they actually serve margaritas if you want one) I decided to take off my shirt and get rid of one of my bottles. I also ditched the fanny pack. From this point in the race we see our crews more often so I didn't need to carry all this crap. For the first time in a 100 I felt stripped down and light. This is how I run as much of my training runs as I can. I don't know if I was just in a weird place mentally, but I felt like an animal. I felt primal. I felt connected to the earth that I was running on. I was positively ecstatic to be running and in love with running for the first time that day. Sure, my blisters were getting worse and every time I stepped on a rock it hurt, but I seemed to be able to rise above all that. It didn't seem to matter. It was beautiful.

I pulled into Camp 10 Bear 2 (mile 70.1) at 5:40pm. I had my crew find medical to see if somebody could help with my blisters. I wish I got the name of the man that helped me, because he was awesome. Awesome in a "I'm going to cut open both of your toes, squeezes out all the fluid, put alcohol on them and squeeze them again when I tape them" sort of way. Bottom line...it hurt like hell. Barry didn't know if he should be taking pictures because I was in so much pain, but Amy told him to make sure that he did.

Son....of....a.....bitch.....

I don't know what hurt worse. The treating of the blisters, or putting my socks and shoes back on. Either way, I hobbled out of there after taking 25 minutes to get fixed. I was hoping that I could just complete the last 30 miles with as little discomfort as possible and if it took a 25 minute stop to achieve that then so be it.

By the time I got to the Spirit of 76 at mile 77 I was feeling great. My blisters still hurt of course, but it was the type of pain that I was able to manage. Of course, now that my blisters were under control a new foe had reared its ugly head. Chafe. I...hate...chafing. For those of you that don't know what it is, let me explain it to you. Do you know that elastic string that is inside your running shorts surrounding the liner? If your not a runner, its just like what is in a bathing suit. Well, on a hot day when you are sweating out all the salt that you are taking to prevent cramping, that liner gets wet. And its wet for a long time. And it rubs. And rubs. And rubs. Eventually the skin right at that point gets rubbed raw. The worst part is you usually don't feel it until it is to late. By that time it feels like you have razor blades in your shorts.

Me and Jack at mile 77

Luckily at this station Amy had a towel, which I used to clean the area(s) and then used body glide to lube it up. Amy put a tiny little body glide into the pocket in my shorts so I could deal with it on the trail. Again, this is why having a well prepared crew is golden. I was also chafing under my left armpit which was a new experience for me.

Bodyglide is a Godsend

Eventually I made my way to the aid station at mile 83 before I had to turn on my headlight. I was feeling good and dealing with the never ending climbs that they throw at you over the last 30 miles. I realized here that the taping job done on my toes might have saved the entire race for me. I thought about how I was gaining experience doing these races and learning so much every time. I completely gave up on my goal of going under 20 hours, but did the math and thought that I might be able to get in under 21 hours if I kept moving at the same pace. I was careful not to put to much pressure on myself as I didn't want to ruin this beautiful full moon night.

I got to Bills Barn, the last medical check, at 10:05pm. I was up 2 pounds from my starting weight and mentally clear. Since I gave up on my 20 hour goal I decided to have a leisurely stop and eat. My crew had hot soup for me and I took a full 10 minutes here eating and taking a short rest. Man, I didn't want to get out of that chair!

Late night dinner at Bills Barn

The rest of the race has a LOT of steep, long climbs. I put my head down and went to work. As I pounded my way through the last 10 miles alone (I have stopped using a pacer so I can concentrate on my run and I love it) I really thought a lot about how fortunate I am. I really thought about Barry and Amy crewing me. They had been up as long as I was and their sole focus was to take care of me. It is so humbling to have them that dedicated to my success.

Me, Joe Holland and Amy at mile 95.5

I hit the last crew aid station, Polly's (mile 95.5) at 11:50pm where I saw my friend Joe Holland. Joe had paced me in 2009 and was awesome. Seeing him here was great as I had been thinking about him getting me through it the last time. I ended up having a great conversation with a runner with an Australian accent for the last miles. We decided together that we were going to try to make it in under 21 hours, but those last steep long hills were really slowing down our pace.

Over the last mile or so we ran into lots of company, including two horses. We kept see-sawing with the horses and in the last .5 mile I got a burst of energy. I passed the two horses, accidentally spooking one of them. I apologized as I ran by and put my head down and sprinted for the finish. With a time of 20:52:13 I finished in 28th place.

Whew, done!

It is 5 days later and I still can't believe that I went from feeling like I wanted to quit at mile 21 to finishing so high up. I learned a lot out there and I can't wait to see what happens at the Leadville 100 in 4 weeks.

Thanks again to Amy, Barry, Coach Jack Pilla, Joe Carera, Blister Fixer Man and Ron A. for all the support. Your all incredible people.

Sub 24-Hour Buckle number two for the year!

Western States recovery and Vermont 100 preview

2011-07-10T20:47:00.000-04:00

It has been two weeks since I finished the Western States 100. My recovery has gone very well, even though I am still tired. The week following the race I ran only 29 miles and this week I put in 45. My running streak is still alive. I actually was able to start running the day after finishing the race and have been able to stay injury free enough to run every day since. As of today my streak stands at 195 days and 2118 miles.

Since I have never run more than one 100 mile race a year I have found myself in no-mans land as far as anticipating how to handle the 3 weeks in between these races. Coach Jack laid out a program for me that called for very easy running the first week, more miles including a few specific work outs this week, and then a very light week next week before the race. I have no idea how ready I am.

The last few days I have found myself looking forward to my daily run, so that's a good sign that I'm healing up. But today I ran 16 miles and found myself very stiff and sore as early as mile 12.

I have also been tormenting myself trying to figure out what shoes I'm going to wear at VT. The course is 70% hard packed dirt roads which might as well be pavement. I am torn between the fantastic fit of the Altras that I wore at WS vs. trying to use my Hoka Combi XT's with the Herman Munster protective sole. The Altras fit way better, but they are way firm and I'm afraid of what that will do to my feet later in the race. The Hokas are way more cushy, but they don't fit nearly as well and are very warm.

Today, in an effort to try to figure out what to do, I wore my Hokas. If I do wear them I plan on taping my toes and feet to see if I can compensate for the less than perfect fit. Last night I took a while and taped my feet using Kinesio tape. Here is what they look like.

I did the two feet different ways in order to see which way would feel better. The left foot I taped the entire toe then trimmed off the excess on top. The right foot I used narrower tape and left the tops of the toes exposed. I used one 2" wide strip on the bottom of my feet to see how I might prevent some of the deep blisters that I get in the folds of my feet long into a 100 mile race. Then I put on my Drymax Trail socks and Hokas to see how it all worked together.

This all WAY overkill for a 16 mile run, but I just wanted to test ride the complete setup to see how it felt. I also made sure to try to duplicate the course as closely as possible, so I set out on the hilly dirt back roads to simulate VT. Here are a couple of pics.

Nice dirt roads

Weird looking Turkeys

Overall, the shoes worked well as did my taping job. I did get a little bit of weirdness in the back of my right foot near the end. I don't think I'm used to all that squishyness. So, I'm torn what to do. At this point it looks like I'll start with my tried and true Altra Instincts and then swap to the Hokas if my feet get really sore.

One of the goals that I set for myself for this year was to break 20 hours in a 100 mile race. This was before I decided to do the Potentially Painful Summer. I can't help but look to VT to be the only realistic place to try to accomplish this goal. If I am healed up enough I'm going for it. If I fall apart, then that's ok. My next goal is to try to get a sub 24 hour buckle at each of the races. I've done VT twice and both times got that buckle. But I have never done it three weeks after a 100 mile race.

None of that stuff really matters when I go back to the purpose of taking on such a big challenge. My goal is to document the process of trying to do something that you don't know if you can accomplish. I am really looking forward to whatever next weeks adventure brings.

2011 Western States 100 Race Report

2011-06-28T21:46:00.000-04:00

19 hours before the start

As the field counted down with the clock for the start of the race, I felt all the things that you would expect to feel at the beginning of a journey into the unknown. This would be the fourth time I was to run 100 miles, but only the first step in my self imposed BHAG. I have thought much about how to tackle running a 100 mile race per month for the next five months, but the truth is, I don't know how to do it.

I think that is the almost magical part of taking on a challenge like this. Diving into the unknown and being patient enough to see how it turns out. It has been said many times that the fun is in the journey, not only in the outcome.

3....2.....1...GO! we all shouted and headed out the steep, winding access road at Squaw Valley. My immediate focus was to make sure that I didn't do anything stupid like go out to fast, so I paid attention to my breathing and heart rate and kept repeating to myself to run my own race.

The first 3.5 miles to escarpment went by very fast. Frankly I think that they had the aid station set up much before 3.5 miles as I reached it in only 35 minutes. Considering my leisurely pace, I would guess that it came much sooner. I grabbed a quick piece of payday bar and continued the climb to the top of the mountain.

Very shortly after the aid station we ran into the first snow field of the race. I immediately knew that I was going to be in trouble. My shoes were dangerously slick. I was wearing the Altra Instincts, a road shoe designed for pavement. It has a very minimal tread.

Since I run in snow all winter I thought my ability to tread lightly would get me through the snow easily, regardless of my shoe choice. I had never run in the instincts in the snow and was shocked at how bad they were. I had thought that we were going to be running in snow, but in the early hours of the morning we were running in hard packed ice.

I told myself to just relax and get through it and went to work. When the running was level I was able to get through it o.k. But shortly we were headed across long, exposed ski slopes and the off camber ice made it incredibly hard to run. There were no footholds and every time that I slipped I had to do everything in my power to not slide 20 feet down the slope. It was a scary, dangerous situation.

People were dealing with it in different ways, but it was obvious that shoe choice was extremely important in this area. I tried to laugh it off and stay "light" emotionally, but by the third or fourth time that I slipped and slammed my right side into the ice I became frustrated. My shoulder dislocates easily from an old snowboarding injury and twice I felt it go out and back in. Here I was, only 7 or 8 miles into the race and I was using an extraordinary amount of energy just trying to keep moving forward. I wondered how this was going to affect the rest of my day.

My feet were now soaked as the ice fields had finally leveled out and turned into legitimate snow fields.. That snow was ankle deep and just like running through mashed potatoes. The snow got underneath my gators and into my shoes. I had expected my feet to be wet, so it was not a big deal. Towards the end of the snowfields we encountered a stream crossing that was incredibly cold. As I held on to the rope to get across my feet, ankle and shins felt like they were being attacked by bees as they went numb from the cold.

We finally got into some nice running as we approached the Poppy Aid Station at mile 20. The sun was now starting to warm us up nicely and my spirits were high as I knew I had dry socks waiting in my drop bag. When I came into the aid station I was greeted by the most organized and friendliest workers I have ever encountered. They had a person waiting a couple hundred feet before the station who got your number, asked if you had a drop bag there, and then radioed ahead to have it ready. I was greeted by my own special worker who stayed with me during the entire stop and got me anything I needed. This process was repeated at every single aid station throughout the race. It was incredible and one of the things that makes this race so very special.

I headed out of the stop with much higher spirits (and dryer feet) and began to settle into a nice running pace. I really wasn't worried about my pace. I had decided that my goal for today was only to finish. I would work on taking care of myself better than I usually do and if my body would carry me to a sub 24 hour finish it would simply be the icing on top of the cake. It was refreshing to take my time and not worry.

Although I talked briefly to a few folks, I really stayed to myself. The time was ticking away and about 6 hours into the race I hit Mosquito Ridge, the 31 mile point. I thought that a 6 hour 50k time wasn't so bad and I remembered that I had my voice recorder with me. I had made a last minute decision to take it with me instead of my camera as I thought it might be interesting to document what I was going through during the race.

As I headed up a hill littered with burnt trees I recorded that it was getting hot and it was starting to affect my stomach a bit. I was trying to keep my chin up as I knew this was only the beginning of what could be a very tough day.

By the time I got to the "Dusty Corners" aid station at mile 38 things were getting worse. I was now 7.5 hours into the race. I changed my socks again and headed towards one of the toughest parts of the race, the canyons. As I started up a climb I dug out my voice recorder again. When I started to talk about how bad I felt and how neasous I was something happened that I was't prepared for. I said "I am at mile 38 and I really didn't expect to feel this bad...." and then I started to cry. I completely choked up and the tears started streaming down my face. With 62 miles still to go I was completely stripped raw.

mmmm, Gu Chomps

I forced myself to eat some Gu Chomps even though I was convinced that I would throw them up. I was so sick to my stomach, but realized that I had not eaten enough and that was most likely the cause. After pulling into Last Chance at mile 43.8 I was starting to feel better. Still neasous, but not so bad I couldn't manage it. I kept thinking about how tough the Canyons were going to be so I was worried.

After leaving Last Chance I started the long, steep 3 mile quad pounding descent into the canyon before the infamous devils thumb. I ended up running with a group of 4 or 5 guys and was following a runner who had done the race before and was moving well. We chatted and he gave commentary about what we were going into and what we were about to experience. I realized that I felt much better and we had dropped the other runners. We were moving very well. I asked him at what point would we be in the worst heat of the day and to my surprise he said that we already were. I was happy to hear it because it didn't seem very bad at all to me.

Devils Thumb

The climb up devils thumb is well known to wreck runners. It is very steep and has more that 30 switchbacks as you hike you way to the top. The combination of heat, effort and fatigue turn many into puking zombies. My friend John who had never thrown up in any of his many 100 mile races threw up here and bet me $20 that I would too.

Honestly I didn't find the climb to be that bad. Luckily it was only about 90 degrees, which is cool for this race. I had built this up to be so bad in my mind beforehand. The reality turned out to be just another steep climb. I made it to the top with high spirits and headed towards the next canyon.

This next section is a bit of blur to me as I sit here trying to remember. I do remember that the decent to El Dorado Creek was longer. The climb up to Michigan Bluff at mile 55.7 was similar to Devils Thumb, but twice as long and not quite as steep. I remember moving pretty well through here and excited to be done with the toughest part of the race. I also knew that for the first time in the race I would be seeing my friend Jeff Waldron who had flown in from NH to crew me.

Jeff and I the day before the race

Jeff is an amazing kid. He loves running and is so enthusiastic about it. He knows who every runner is, what their stats are, etc. He keeps me smiling and is just brings so much positive energy with him. You will almost never find him without a smile on his face. When he found out I was doing the race he told me that he wanted to come to help me in any way that he could.

As I came into the Michigan Bluff aid station there he was, with that big smile on his face. He helped me with a sock and shoe change and told me how great I was doing. He got me some food and brought over the resident pediatrist to help me with some developing blisters. The doctor told me that considering that I had run all day with wet feet they looked great. He told me that the blisters I was starting to get in the folds of my feet were tough to prevent and I just had to deal with them. So I decided that is just what I had to do and I headed out in high spirits again.

Michigan Bluff (photo Ian Sharman)

Later, looking at my splits, I was surprised to see that I spent 20 minutes at that aid station. I was enjoying not being in a rush, but this was also about the time that I realized that my leisurely pace was getting me further and further behind the posted 24 hour pace. Knowing that the toughest part of the race was over and that I was headed to some of the faster trails I made the decision to try to get a silver buckle.

By the time I got to the Foresthill aid station, mile 62, I was feeling great. Once again I saw Jeff. The 7 miles between the last stop and here had been enough time to start developing a bad blister on my left pinky toe. I decided to take the time to try to a dress it so it wouldn't be terrible later. Dr. George, the aid station blister specialist helped me tape it and the extra time spent here paid off. Jeff gave me a Boost to drink and also suggested that I take another Vespa Amino Acid supplement. It was good advice!

I left the station feeling great. I was running well and amazed that my legs didn't hurt at all. The trails at this point are beautiful gradual downhill through the woods along the ridge and I really enjoyed them. It was easy to keep running and I felt like I was putting excellent time back in the bank. I gained back a bunch of time on the 24 hour pace during this section and really started focusing on getting that silver buckle.

I had picked up my headlight at the school and was ready to head into the night time of the race without a pacer for the first time in a 100 miler. I had decided after Leadville that using a pacer just gave me somebody to bitch and complain to when I felt bad in the middle of the night. I decided that being alone would allow me to just focus on myself. Jeff told me that he would be ready to pace me at each of the following crew aid stations if I changed my mind. I think that he was a bit disappointed, but he never really showed me.

I made it to the 70 mile aid station before having to turn on my head light. At this point I only had 8 miles to go to get to the famous "Rucky Chucky" river crossing. The stretch of trail between this area was fast and I felt great. The combination of eating more at the aid stations and the cooler temperatures were making it much easier to run. My energy was up and I was pecking away at the 24 hour pace. I honestly don't remember much about this section except for just focusing on running as often as I could. This is where all my training started to pay off. I might not be that fast, but I have built up a lot of endurance. I started passing a lot of people who were beginning to suffer. I know it sounds terrible but I always get a boost of energy later in these races when I see others slow down and I am not. It gives me confidence that I have the strength to make up time.

River Crossing, awesome volunteers!

The river crossing was fun and once again the volunteers were amazing. On the other side was a crew aid station (mile 78) and there was Jeff waiting to help me again. I sat down in a chair and told Jeff that I didn't want to bother changing my socks again. The blisters where there and I was just going to power on until the end and get moving. He got me some chicken broth, which I had been drinking at every aid station. I found that if I first drank broth my stomach would be much more receptive towards eating. It was a helpful trick and I relied on it a lot throughout the later parts of the race.

In order to meet me at the far side of the river crossing Jeff had to hike down almost 3 miles with my gear. As I left the aid station he packed up my stuff and caught up with me on the 2 mile uphill hike to Green Gate. I enjoyed this time with him a lot. I was in good spirits, making progress on the 24 hour time and it was a beautiful star lit night. It felt incredibly peaceful and calm. When I reached the part of the road where the trail picked back up I asked Jeff for my ipod. I said farewell and thanked him again for spending all day and night taking care of me. The next time I would see him would be at mile 93, the Highway 49 crossing.

I really put my head down for these next 13 miles. I kept doing the math over and over in my head trying to get that buckle. It is amazing how something as simple as a silver belt buckle kept me focused and motivated. I guess at this point it really is about keeping your mind in control over your body. Having something to focus on is a big help.

I saw Jeff quickly at the Highway 49 crossing. He gave me what I needed and sent me on my way. I remember telling him that I would see him at the finish line. Again I did the math. It was 2:49am. At this point I had 2 hours and 11 minutes to get through the next 7 miles. It might not sound hard but when you have already run 93 miles and have been on your feet for 21.5 hours you never know what sort of pace you are going to be able to do.

At this point all I could focus on was getting to the next aid station, No Hands bridge at mile 96.8. I could feel blisters on the bottoms of my feet and left heel. Every time I would step on a rock it would send shooting stabs of pain through my feet, but I just gritted my teeth through it and decided that it was time to be tough. This has happened to me on every one of my previous 100 milers, but this time I had nobody to complain to. I just listened to my music, focused on the trail in front of me and tried to run as much as possible.

No Hands Bridge

I reached "No-Hands Bridge"and still didn't know if I was going to make it. For some reason I thought I remembered it being all uphill from the bridge, with the last 1/2 mile being really steep. I was thinking that I would have to hike 3 miles and that could take an hour this late in the game.

It turns out that it is quite runable until the very last part, where you are cruelly sent up an extraordinarily step paved road before you wind through the town towards the Placerville High track where the race finishes. As I finished the last climb I passed three runners with their pacers. I was absolutely flying, filled with adrenaline knowing that I was going to get that coveted silver buckle. As I made the turn onto the track I was in an outright sprint. There was really no reason to do it, I was just so excited. As I turned the last corner towards the finish line another runner and his family were going through. I slowed down as a little boy was holding his moms hand running towards what I presume to be his dad. He tripped, so I stopped and let him get up and run through the finish line before I took my turn.

I broke the line at 23 hours and 27 minutes and was greeted by Tim Tweitmeyer (25 time WS100 sub 24 finisher) who placed a finishers medal on my neck. I was quickly whisked into a chair where a volunteer took my blood pressure and pulse to make sure I was ok. I was handed a bottle of water by another. I then went into the medical tent where I gave blood and a urine sample for the medical team. I will share with everybody the kind of havoc that running 100 miles does to your body's chemical balance when I get the results.

The Silver Sub-24 Hour Finisher Buckle!!

This race was an amazing experience. I can't believe that I am going to do it again in only 3 short weeks at the Vermont 100. One down, 4 to go. Thank you to everybody who wrote me emails or posted notes on my Facebook wall. Your support and encouragement really keep me going.

Follow my progress at Western States

2011-06-25T08:00:00.001-04:00

For those of you that want to see how I'm doing in the Western States 100, you can track me Here at the live broadcast!

Here we go! 24 Hours until the start of the 2011 Western States 100

2011-06-24T08:53:00.000-04:00

Siting here on the plane heading out to California I am overcome with emotion. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting at work watching the webcast for the lottery to get in to the Western States 100. This is the race that I first read about in Dean Karnazes's book, Ultramarathon Man several years ago. In that book he describes what a superhuman effort it took to complete this grueling run. I had just started to run Ultras and I could not even comprehend running 50 miles, let alone 100.

Almost as soon as I had logged into the webcast I thought that I heard my name called, but the on screen update took a while to catch up. Once I finally saw my name on that list I was psyched. They call Western States, "The Big Dance" and it draws one of the deepest fields of any Ultra in the world.

Getting into WS also opens another opportunity for the truly aspiring runner, the option to compete in the "Grand Slam". The Grand Slam consists of running WS in June, VT100 3 weeks later, the Leadville 100 5 weeks later and finally the Wasatch 100 in September. With an average of only 4 weeks between these classic races, the runner that takes on the challenge has to be extremely dedicated. If at any point you do not finish one of the races your slam is over.

Typically about 30 people take on this challenge and only 25 to 50 percent actually complete it. Finishing the Grand Slam puts you in the certified Bad Ass category among a group of Bad Asses.

About a month after getting in to WS I was talking to Amy about my long delayed book and interest in public speaking. The thought of entering the slam had entered my mind as a way to illustrate the methods and ideas that I want to write and speak about. As we talked I remember actually feeling adrenaline course through my body in fear of the enormity of this type of challenge. I will never forget her looking at me. I could see her contemplating the reality of the amount of support and sacrifice she would need to make in order for me to do this. With very little hesitation she told me not only to do it, but that I HAD to.

At that moment the "Potentially Painful Summer" was sparked. Readers of my blog already know the story of how I waited too long to get into the Wasatch lottery and decided to substitute the "Bear 100" instead. To add more difficulty I have also decided to attempt the 124 mile Run Across New Hampshire 4 weeks after the Bear. After attempting and failing to complete this run twice it will be a sweet ending to this effort.

My hope is that my constant blog updates since I made that decision will give others a glance into the process of setting and going after goals that you are not sure that you can complete. I have told many of my friends that this is what I feel I am supposed to be doing. I have a gut instinct that I am here on this earth to do more than just sell motorcycles.

A simple thought sparked an idea. The idea turned into a belief. The belief turned to a burning desire. The desire inspired passionate work. The work created the ability. Now it is time for the vision to create the reality.

No matter how it turns out, I have been overwhelmed at how much loving support I have received from my family, friends and even strangers. Thank you so much!

Here we go!!!!

X-Talons and Talons

2011-06-17T19:37:00.000-04:00

After the last update from the Western States Race committee I began to freak out a bit. Everybody who is running the race is holding our breath waiting to see what we are going to be running for the first 30 or so miles of the course. The Squaw Valley area has received the biggest snowfall in their history and the runners don't know if we will be running a modified course. If so, then what does it consist of? In the update we were told that there are several options that are being explored, but we most likely wont know until the day before the race. We were told to expect to run the first 30 miles in snow.

Now snow doesn't really worry me. I run all winter long in snow and on the packed snowmobile trails. The part that does worry me is that I have never run in snow with my Altra shoes. I have no idea how they will perform. Considering the road based tread, I'm guessing that they won't be so great. It is also against the rules to use any traction devices such as my beloved YakTrax.

Keeping this in mind, I decided to do some last minute exploring of shoe options. Truthfully, this is really a stupid thing for me to do. Its not good to start second guessing my game plan this late. The one other shoe in my staple that is very similar to my Altra Instincts is my Inov-8 flite 230's. Knowing that they make a more aggressive version I decided to see if my local Inov-8 dealer had a pair in stock. The shoe is called the X-Talon 190.

As luck would have it, they had a pair in my size, and they were on sale too. Good sign, I thought.

In the afternoon I decided to take them out for a little 5 miler in the woods near my house. It was a nice run and the shoes felt great. I was really focusing on how they felt and what type of traction they had when all of a sudden I heard a hawk screeching at me from the trees. It was making quite a racket and I just kept moving. All of a sudden it swooped down and dive bombed me, coming about 5 feet from me directly overhead. Obviously I had gotten to close to its nest and this time of year it would have babies.

At this point I was simply a little freaked out and thought that was the worst of it. Unfortunately I was wrong. It repeated its little dance about 3 more times as I ran faster and faster through the trail. The trail is a tight twisty trail through densely populated forest. I was only about 1/2 a mile from the end before it dumped out onto the main road. My nice little run had turned into a track meet with me doing the 50 yard dash to get away from this rat with wings.

I had just realized that the screeching had stopped when all of a sudden it felt like somebody slapped my in the back of my head and I felt claws dig into my scalp. The thing actually grabbed my head as it smacked me. NOW I was freaked out. I started yelling at it and reached down and grabbed a big stick. I really didn't know what to do. With one hand holding the stick up, the other feeling my scalp to see if I was actually hurt I ran like an Olympian to the end of the trail. I was now prepared to play "hawkball" if I had to, but luckily it retreated once I was out of the woods.

Still shocked at what happened I could feel that my head was actually bleeding. I was trying to figure out if it was just scratches or if the thing actually cut me badly. Just a couple hundred feet up the road a nice young couple was pushing their baby in a stroller and I stopped to ask them if they could help. Both of them kind of looked at me with concern as I told them of what just happened. They told me that I had blood dripping down my face. They also looked at my scalp and told me that it was cut, but didn't look like gashes. The lady offered to drive me home, but I knew that I was only a mile from the house. I thanked them and told them it wasn't necessary.

It turns out that there were just three scratches on my head and they weren't deep. The next day as a precaution I went to the doctors to make sure. They gave me a tetanus shot and sent me on my way.

I think I'll leave these shoes at home...

T-Minus two weeks and counting

2011-06-12T19:27:00.000-04:00

Only 13 days left until Western States

Like every other person who is running the Western States, I'm counting down the days. I ended up this week at 63 miles and I am ready for the taper. Over the last 8 weeks I have run the highest mileage weeks I have ever done in training and I put in 424 miles in May. That's the most I've ever run in a month. My yearly total as of today is up to 1844, which just three years ago would have been close to my total for the entire year.

The big question for me heading into my first 100 of the year is, "has my training been specific enough?". Just putting in the miles doesn't mean that I am going to be prepared as much as I need to be. The other thing I'm struggling with is getting my head fixed on a certain goal. Normally I train intensely so I can do good at one 100 mile race per year. When that race comes, I go as hard as I can. With my Potentially Painful Summer looming I need to decide if I am just going to see if I can survive or if I should race hard. On one hand it would be very refreshing to just go along for the adventure with the only goal of finishing all the races. The reality is that doesn't exactly fit my personality. I better figure it out soon because it is very important to know what your intentions are when you start one of these things.

Sub 24 Hour Silver Buckle

Here is what I think at this point. My first goal is just to finish. No matter what happens to me I need to finish this so I can start this big goal. The other goal is to get a sub-24 buckle. I have never finished a 100 in more that 24 hours. Hopefully this won't be the first.

To see my training blog for the week, go HERE.

Taking it all in Stride

2011-06-08T20:35:00.000-04:00

In the past several months I have talked briefly here about how I have worked hard on changing my stride. At the risk of jumping on the "minimalist" bandwagon I'd like to explain why I made this change. After my first attempt to run across the state of NH in 2008 I ended up with a stress fracture. On that day the pain started with a tightness in my shin that felt like the classic shin splint. The thing that didn't make sense to me at the time was that the pain started about 60 miles into the run. By the time I got to mile 65 the pain was almost unbearable. I made it another 5 miles and called it quits.

I spent the next several months running a reduced mileage mostly on the treadmill. It seemed that the softness of the TM didn't aggravate it and by the start of the 2009 season I was ready to go. Several times throughout the season I would have shin/ankle pain, but with icing and a reduction in mileage I was able to keep it at bay. At the end of the year I tried again to run across the state. Again, by the time I got to 65 miles the pain was back, although not as severe. I ended my attempt to run across NH in the exact place I did the previous year. Although my ankle was in pain, I was able to nurse myself back to health using the same techniques. It was at this time that I was formally diagnosed with "Anterior Tibialis Tendinitis"

At the beginning of the year I decided to figure out why this was happening. I went to see a podiatrist who specializes in helping runners. After gait analysis they came to the same diagnosis that so many of us have heard. I was an over pronator and needed orthotics. To make a long story short, I spent a LOT of money to get hard plastic wedges that hurt and didn't help my problem one bit.

About this time I had been experimenting with less of a shoe, rather than an overbuilt stability shoe. It seemed to help. My shin/ankle hurt less and I really enjoyed the feeling of my foot not being cradled so tightly. Everything was fine until the week I was out at Leadville in the days before the race. I noticed that after I ran down Hope pass in training that the ankle pain was creeping back.

It didn't affect my race, and later in the year I decided to try to run a fast(er) marathon to qualify for Boston. Coach Jack changed my training to do much more speed work and the more I did the more my ankle/shin flared up. Most of my road running was being done in Nike Free's. After running the marathon in October and setting a PR on a hilly course my ankle was really talking to me. One of my employees who is a professional triathlete mentioned that my tendinitis was most likely caused by heel striking and I should try shoes with a smaller heel differential. Although the Nike frees are very flexible and light, they have a HUGE difference in the height of the heel vs. the forefoot.

Here is a video of my running downhill at that marathon at about mile 20.

Courtesy of Pete Larson of Runblogger
I have spent the last 6 months working on eliminating my heel strike. I am only using shoes that have a 4mm or less differential and most of my time is being spent in my Altra Instincts which have zero difference. This change has enabled me to increase my efficiency and all but eliminate my Anterior Tibialus Tendinitis. Here is what my stride looks like now. This video was shot last week.

Courtesy of Pete Larson of Runblogger

Barefoot, Minimalist, Zero Drop....whatever you call the current fad, my personal experience is that it is enabling me to continue with my love of running and decreasing my injuries. That's called a win win in my book.

"Peak" Condition

2011-06-05T20:41:00.000-04:00

Pats Peaks - Henniker NH

Well, another weeks training is in the books. Even though I ended up at 82 miles, it felt like I was beginning my taper. Western States is only 3 weeks away and the big talk is how much snow there is. At this point it's pretty much a given that we will be running a modified course, probably the same as last year. The record amounts of snow might cause for an even more radical re-route, but regardless I'm excited to do my first 100 of the year.

Beginning of the 5.25 mile loop. They do a 6, 12 and 24 hour MT. Bike race here every year.

After seeing some of the Western States course last week, I decided that I would get in as much hill training as I can this week and made it out to Pats Peak twice to run the 5.25 mile mountain bike loop. Only 25 minutes from my house, the course offers some hard climbs, long descents and some beautiful technical single track. Wednesday was my first time running there this year and I did two loops of the course in 1 hour 39 minutes. My second loop was almost 2 minutes faster than my first, which is good news for me since my pattern there over the past few years is to see a 2 or 3 minute slowdown between loops.

Fun, muddy, rocky single track

For my 21 mile long run today I returned to see how I would feel after completing 4 loops. They ended up at 52:50, 52:18, 53:11 and 54:19. After the second loop I was really tired, so I was happy to see that my pace didn't slow down that much.

View from the top

I officially start my taper next week and I can't wait. While I'm tired, I think that I've put in the training needed to get me to the starting line healthy and ready.

As a side note, retyping my regular training runs into this blog is a pain in the ass. I'm going to assume that showing my weekly total in the right hand column will satisfy most peoples curiosity. If anybody wants to see the detail of my training log, just go to this link and type in "bikernate" (without the quotes). I use www.runningahead.com to log all my runs and my user log is public. I recommend the site.

Final Day - Western States Training Camp

2011-06-03T07:00:00.001-04:00

Western States Running Camp, final day 5/31

Getting off the bus to start day 3

As we got off the bus and started down the trail I wondered how my body was going to feel. In the last two days I had run 50 miles. Today we would be running the last 22.5 miles of the race, from a little above Green Gate to the track at Placer Union High School. Besides a little hip pain afterwards, I felt great. Would today be the day that my legs protested? At this point in the run I felt pretty good, but I was guessing that it wouldn't last. I purposely let Aliza go ahead of me. I didn't want to get caught up in running to fast, plus she was planning on spending the day with Meghan Arbogast, last years second place woman's finisher.

Aliza and Meghan

About a mile in I was cruising downhill at what I felt was a very comfortable pace when I went by the two of them. Meghan asked what the rush was and I started to wonder what I was doing. Still, it felt very comfortable to me so I just kept up the pace. I little bit up the road I stopped for a potty break and the girls went by.

I figured that would be the last I would see of them for the day and I went about trying to pay attention to the course, which was beautiful. I was expecting quad pounding downhills and instead what I got was super nice single track through a pretty forest mixed with the occasional water crossing.

Aliza and Meghan

It wasn't to much later that I caught up with the girls and one of Meghans training partners. The pace felt good so I just quietly stayed on their heels. As we started to chat I discovered that his 50 mile PR was just a little over 7 hours. I became a little intimidated and again I wondered if I was going out to fast for a 22 mile run.

The train that I latched onto

My new friend Adam from Colorado had tagged on with us as well and had said to me that he was just trying to hang on. I looked at my Garmin at somewhere around 7 miles and saw that we were cruising at a 7:15 pace. "Shit" I thought. What the hell am I doing? I decided to just try to hang on until 10 miles and then I would bail out if I wanted to slow down.

On the other hand I felt pretty good about being able to keep up with some elites and it was a great mental boost, even if they were just cruising at what was surely a pedestrian pace for them. Lately in the Ultra-running crowd I really don't know where i fit in. I have only raced once this year and I was a little disappointed with my 9th place finish. I know that I am not a mid-pack finisher anymore, but I haven't made the mental jump into convincing myself that I can place with the front runners.

We seemed to always stop to take a food or pee break right when I needed to and I felt great on the climbs, which we ran rather than hiked for the most part. I kept wondering when I was going to blow up.

In a little over 2 hours we came to the 14 mile aid station and took a nice couple minute break. As we headed out up a dirt road climb, I heard dirt bikes. There was a motocross track right down the road and I really enjoyed watching the bikes.

Meghan gave us a lot of commentary on the course, which was excellent and sure to help on race day. In 4 or 5 more miles we came to "No Hands Bridge", the 97 mile point during the race. The camp had set up another aid station and again we took a nice relaxed break where I ate a few more pieces of my new favorite training food, Payday bars.

Meghan, Aliza and Adam at No Hands bridge, mile 97 of the race

At this point we faced a 3 mile climb to the finish line and I was hopeful that our group would stay together until the end. As we started up I knew that the pace was something that I was easily going to be able to handle. Honestly, I felt great. In the last mile or so we came to the paved road and the hill got steep! We all ran every step of it and then through the town headed for the track where the race finishes.

It was a great mental boost to be able to run those last 22.5 miles in around 3 1/2 hours. On race day it will be much slower, but knowing that for three days I banged out 30, 19, and 22.5 miles without being very tired or sore is encouraging.

The finish line track

Going out to the training camp was a great experience. Besides being pretty homesick within a few days, the trip helped me get a much better idea of what I am going to be facing during the race. It also helped me decide on some of my gear. I brought two shorts, to see which would be better and picked a pair to wear on race day.

Altra Instincts (left) and Intuitions (right, womens version)

I went out with three pairs of shoes. My Hoka Bondi B's, my Saucony Peregrines and my Altra Instincts. I also used Drymax Ultra socks all three days. The Hoka's and Saucony's never even came out of my travel bag. I used the Altras on all three days and they were absolutely perfect. I made a slight modification to the heel (I removed a piece of external strapping) and they handled everything I could throw at them. Running all these downhills was a test to see if my toes would be comfy. The fit of the Altras makes it so your foot is held in place and the toe box is so nice and roomy that your toes never slip and jam into the front. I'm so happy this new company is in the market.

There are only 4 more weeks before Western States and the beginning of my Potentially Painful Summer. I'm finally starting to feel like I might be ready for this and that my hard work is paying off. Of course that could change any minute, but for the time being I'll take it!

Can't wait to see this plaque on race day.

Day Two

2011-06-02T14:55:00.000-04:00

Ws100 training camp day 2

Me and Aliza at the start of day 2

After sleeping for 9 hours I woke up feeling groggy, but better rested than I have been in quite a while. Unfortunately it was only 42 degrees out at 6:30 in the morning. After a leisurely coffee at Starbucks we headed over to the start. I wasn't sure what to wear since the sun was coming out, but it was still so cold I didn't want to be freezing for the first part of the run. I decided to keep my lightweight raincoat on over my short sleeve shirt. Of course it wasn't 20 minutes into the run that I had to wrap it around my waist where it stayed for the rest of the day.

Fog burning off

On the schedule today was the 16 miles from the school to the Rucky Chucky river crossing, plus a 3 mile hill climb to the buses where we would be transported back to our car for a total of 19 miles. The trails were mostly gradual downhill and in the shade, but there were a few steep uphills.

Just in case you thought WS was all downhills

It was an incredibly beautiful course. A few miles into the day I ended up behind a girl who was running the same pace as me. Her name was Hannah and we stayed together for most of the day. I don't usually run with anybody that long. I really work on running my own pace. I'm not sure if I was just distracted, but the running felt easy. I wasn't sore, which was a big surprise after running 30 miles yesterday. By the time we got to the 16 mile aid station I looked at my watch and was pleased to see that I was under a 10 minute per mile pace.

Me and Hannah

At the very start of the 3 mile climb I felt great. I noticed that Hannah's breathing was a little labored and I realized that I was going at a pace that might have been a little to fast for her. I felt so good I told her that I would see her at the end and then I set about seeing if I could run the entire climb. I had no idea how steep it was going to be, but it turned out to be doable and I finished strong in 3:15.

There are lots of trails like this

I felt much better today than yesterday. Today's run put me at 102 miles for the week, and it is really nice to end the week feeling good. Tomorrow we go 22 miles. I really hope that I continue to feel good because after this run I get to start to taper down my weekly mileage in preparation of the first 100. As of today there are only 4 weeks until the Western States 100.

Auburn arrival and Day One of the camp

2011-06-01T11:24:00.000-04:00

Friday, 5/29

Oh, that's where my bag went....

I met Aliza Lapierre at the Sacramento airport and we shared a rental car for the short drive to Auburn. Along the way we stopped at Whole Foods to stock up. I could live at that place, I wish that we had one at home. After arriving at the Auburn Super 8 we decided to take a little run of 5 or 6 miles. We looked on Google and saw that only a little bit down the road had the potential of getting us on some of the trails. As we headed towards the trails we ran over the highest bridge in California. I was amused at the signs saying that no horses were allowed.

As we got about 1/4 of the way over the bridge Aliza started to freak out at how high we were and took off like a rocket towards the other side. Unfortunately the bridge is almost a half a mile long and it took her a couple of minutes to get to the other side. When I reached the other side we decided to head down the steep switchbacks to get down towards the water and check out underneath the bridge.

We were amazed at how massive the bridge was. It made me dizzy to look up towards the top of the columns. Neither one of us had brought cameras, so we went back a few days later and took the pictures I'm posting now. While we were there we saw a big snake, which we later identified as a King Snake which is non-poisonous. We were pretty careful at the time though because we had been warned about many dangerous snakes, including rattlesnakes.

King Snake (I think...)

As we were heading back up the hill a rock came flying down from above and landed only a few feet from Aliza. We were freaked out to say the least as it would have severely hurt us if it we had been hit. Later we saw a few kids smoking underneath the bridge and I'm guessing that they were throwing rocks. Sometimes people don't think.....

Training Camp, Day One

Saturday 5/28
This morning about 150 people met at the Forest Hill Elementary School in Auburn California to attend the first of three days of training on the Western States 100 course.

Foresthill School, Mile 60 during the race

We took a bus from the school for a half an hour drive to the start of the days run. On the schedule was 30 miles. Unfortunately we were unable to run the canyons due to the excessive amount of snow. The first four miles of today's run was not part of the course. We ran from the top of Drivers Flat road to Forest Hill in reverse and then on to Michigan Bluff where we turned around and ran back to the school.

I was under strict instructions from Satan, I mean Coach Jack, to not run fast or hard today. He told me that he wanted to make sure that I was tired before this weekend so I could go slow and concentrate on learning everything about the course possible. No problem there, I'm pretty tired. There were lots of ups and downs today. Many of the downhills were long, but not that steep. Only a few of the climbs were steep, but I power hiked most of them in an effort to take it easy. It actually felt great to take it easy and hike as I have not done any yet this year.

Beautiful Trails

At the 10.5 mile aid station I left with Tim Twietmeyer. I don't usually get star struck, but Tim is a legend at Western States. He has won the race 5 times and has completed it in under 24 hours 25 times! He was great company and I learned a bunch about the course in the hour or so I ran with him.

5 Time WS100 winner, Tim Twietmeyer

The 18 mile aid station was back in the parking lot were we started and I thought for a minute about calling it a day. Luckily that was just a fleeting thought and I went back out to finish the next 12 miles.
After running up a road for a while I headed down Bath Road. During the race we run up it in the opposite direction, and it is steep. I was alone and stopped a couple times to see if I was still going the right way, as there were no markings. After finding the trail I went down a long hill and nice trail to the turn around at Michigan Bluff. Along the way was a cool stream crossing that required a rope to help you through the rushing water. I met up with Adam, whom I ran some of the Leadville race and training camp and we had a great time catching up and talking about training, jobs, etc.

Fun stream crossing

It went really well today. I took it easy and didn't beat up my body to badly. Tomorrow we have 19 miles on the schedule. That will give me another 100 mile week of training. I'm looking forward to seeing more of the course, and I'm also looking forward to getting this week over so I can begin my taper and rest up for the race.

Going back to Cali

2011-05-31T21:03:00.000-04:00

Note: This post is the first of four that I wrote this weekend while attending the Western States Training Camp. I will post parts 2, 3 and 4 over the next three consecutive days.

Friday May 27. 2011

I'm on a plane heading out to Sacramento California to attend the Western States 100 training camp. Last year I went to the training camp for the Leadville 100 and even though I severely sprained my ankle on the second day I found that getting to see the course ahead of time was invaluable.

I have mixed feelings about going. On one hand it will be great seeing a bunch of the course and meeting other runners who are as nutty or nuttier than me. Western states is known to be hard on the quads because it is an overall downhill course and it tears them up if you are under trained. I am interested to see if what I see lives up to the hype.

On the other hand, we are not going to be able to run the canyons. The canyons are the most challenging part of the race. They are steep, long and extremely hot. Like over 100 degrees hot. My friend John has bet me $20 that I will throw up from the conditions. They are brutal. The snowfall in the area is at an all time record high so for the training camp we have to run a modified course.

I also am not excited about leaving Amy and the kids for the holiday weekend. For the last several years the entire family has been my crew for the Pineland Farms Ultra Festival in Maine. It's one of the only local races that the crews can see their runners multiple times. The also put on a great weekend celebration with a great BBQ and lots of beer! I have set a PR there the last two years and it has been so great having my family there cheering me on.

I am continually thinking about what a selfish sport this is and how fortunate I am to have a family that constantly puts my desires before theirs. It's embarrassing, humbling and inspiring all at the same time. It makes me feel obligated to do the best I can do out of respect to them and their faith in me.

I admit it, I'm tired.

2011-05-23T21:31:00.000-04:00

I guess I have to admit it. I'm tired. I didn't have the energy to write last night! What a busy week last week was. I followed up my 100 mile week with a 92 mile week. I really felt the training last week. I was very tired. I didn't miss any runs, but I was not able to find the time to do my strength training workout. My running streak is still alive. I'm at 147 days in a row now and have put on a total of 1642.4 miles in those days. That means that I have averaged a little over 11 miles per day for the last 4 months. No wonder I'm tired.

Max, before the race

Some really cool things happened last week. On Thursday, after doing a 10 mile run, I attended the Rock N' Race 5k in Concord. I didn't race it, but ran it with my son Max. This is the second year I have done it with him and I was so proud of him. Max is more of a gamer and computer fanatic than a sports person, but every year he trains and gets ready with his classmates for this event. And this year we had a great time spending the night together, running together and celebrating his beating last years time by 2 minutes. These are the moments that I will never forget.

Max, sprinting across the finish line.

I also attended my friend "Sherpa" John Lacroix's graduation/moving party to say goodbye as he and his wife Sarah packed up and moved to Denver. It was a great night. I rode a Street Glide from the shop and it was my first ride this year. I forgot how much I love riding motorcycles. It was awesome. While I was there I was talking to some mutual friends ours. Josh, Leah and Loni are friends that Sherpa introduced me to years ago. They have been instrumental in John completing the Run Across New Hampshire. While we were chatting I mentioned to Loni that I had decided to give it another shot. She told me that they had been reading my blog and they were already planning on helping. I really didn't know what to say. I am so psyched that they want to do that for me. It feels strange asking people to give up a perfectly good weekend to stay awake all night, drive 6 miles ahead, wait for a cranky jerk to show up, make him eat, give him encouragement, send him on his way, then drive another 6 miles and do it all over again. These guys are better people than me. I couldn't do it, its really hard! It is overwhelming to me that I have people in my life that are this supportive. I have no idea how to show my appreciation.

I was also perplexed at how I gained weight last week. Well, I guess perplexed is the wrong word. Since I was running so much I really ate everything in sight. I also drank too much. It seems when I work my body hard I end up craving sweets, (which I did a decent, but not perfect, job of avoiding) and alcohol. I struggle a bit with eating right and watching my drinking. One of these days I'll dive more into that topic, but it is a very emotional one and I'm not ready to write about it yet. Maybe I'll save it for the book.

This will be another 100 mile training week if everything goes well. I'm headed out to California for the weekend to do the Western States Training Camp. I will be covering 70 miles of the course in three days. I should be even more tired after that!

Last weeks training recap:

Monday 5/16
8 Miles (1:08:48) Easy roads
Shoes - Modified Nike Free's
Easy slow recovery run. Worked on my form with my modified Nike frees. As close to running barefoot as I can get.

Tuesday 5/17
15.2 Miles (2:02:14) Hill Intervals
Shoes - Hoka Bondi B
2.6 miles of warmup, then 3 sets of 1 mile hill intervals. Each up was very close to 9min up and the downs were in the low 6's. I didn't have my Garmin as my battery died. I thought I was running very easy pace, surprised to see that it came out to 8:03 pace for the entire run.

Wednesday 5/18
10 Miles (1:35:00) Easy snowmobile trails
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Ran with Sherpa. Had a fun soupy muddy run.

Thursday 5/19
Afternoon
12 Miles (1:40:38) Powerlines Hill Intervals
Shoes - Saucony Peregrine
Did 3 miles of warmup on the powerlines then 5 1/2mile up and downs with a minute rest between. My legs are tired, but I still felt light on them. Kind of hard to explain.

Evening
5k (33:15)
Shoes - Vibram Bakila Five Fingers
Rock N' Race with Max

Friday 5/20
8 Miles (1:06:03) Easy roads
Shoes - Hoka Bondi B
Easy run in the clown shoes. Legs are tight, but I'm still ok once I warm up for a few miles.

Saturday 5/21
12 Miles (1:53:09) Powerlines
Shoes - Saucony Peregrine
Hamstrings are really tight and I'm tired.

Sunday 5/22
24 Miles (3:19:42) Very Hilly roads with Tempo run in middle
Shoes - Hoka Bondi B
Very hilly road route. 7.5 miles in 1:09 then 5 miles at tempo pace (didn't record the time but I would estimate the overal pace below 7:30). Then finished the run at a moderate pace. 8:20 pace overall on this route is pretty good for me, especially on tired legs.

Total
92.3 Miles (13:19:01)
No strength training

First 100 mile week of the year

2011-05-17T20:14:00.000-04:00

I didn't write on Sunday this week because I was beat! Last week was my first time this year that I ran 100 miles in a week. Actually I ran 100.4 miles in 6 days. Sort of. My training log for the week is below but let me explain. On Saturday I got up early and ran 20 miles on my favorite training area, the power lines. I like the run because it is the hardest run I can do without traveling. Here are some pictures from my run that morning.

Muddy!

Exposed!

Steep!

Rocky!

The run that morning took me 3 hours and 15 minutes. Last year when I was feeling good I was doing the same run in 2:55 and feeling like I was running easy. Obviously I'm tired. After the run I went to work and in the afternoon I went to a nephews bar mitzvah reception where I saw a lot of family. After we had a few people over the house where I gorged on Chinese take-out and had a few drinks. Then at 9:22pm I headed out in the rain and ran another 24 miles. My friend Ron joined me for about 1/2 the miles (I met him at his house a little past 11). I actually got pretty irritated for much of the time I was running with him. I was exhausted and it was obvious that it was difficult for him to run that slowly. I felt like I was running an ultra, I was cranky! I ran the last three miles alone after Ron left. I put on my tunes, zoned out and realized that I actually felt pretty good. When I stopped worrying about my pace and just concentrated on finishing the miles everything got OK again. I finished at 1:45 in the morning (see, I did do a run on Sunday...). I set the alarm for 7 so I could get up and go to my first autocross!

Evo power!

I was soo tired that morning but I had an absolute blast running through the cones.   My biggest problem was remembering where the course went. My Mitsubishi Evo was incredible and everybody at the event was super nice. I can't wait to go again.

It is getting harder and harder to get my runs in. This is the part in training that is so critical to success in running 100 mile races, but it is also hard mentally. I just keep thinking that if I don't do the work, I wont achieve the results that I'm hoping for. So I keep doing the work.

One nice thing happened today. I got an email from an Ultra runner whom I met at a New Balance focus group. He is training for his first 100, the Vermont 100. He told me that I need to keep writing my blog because it helps him run when he doesn't want to.   It is so nice getting emails like that because I don't know who is reading my blog. I hope anybody reading this blog realizes that I need your stories of inspiration to help me too!

Last weeks training log:

Monday 5/9
8 Miles (1:05:27) Easy roads
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Was pretty stiff at first, but loosened up ok. Ran at a very easy pace. Now running in the afternoon when it is warmer.

Tuesday 5/10
15 Miles (2:07:22) Fartlek Run, snowmobile trails
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Fartlek run. Did 8 miles warmup, then 5 miles of fartleks. 1 min hard then 4 min easy. Felt pretty good today, but started to get tired the last couple miles.

Wednesday 5/11
10.25 Miles (1:25:42) Easy trail run
Shoes - Merrell Trail Gloves
Great run, felt light and fast on my feet

Thursday 5/12
15.1 Miles (2:07:44) Hill Workout - roads and trails
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Ug, so tired tonight. I almost didn't do my hill workout, but saw it through. Did 4.5 miles of warm up then did .5 mile hill intervals (up and down) at St. Pauls on a steep hill.

Friday 5/13
Elliptical - 10 minutes, warmup for workout
Strength training - 45 minutes. full workout. Had hard time finishing last set of sit ups. Need to get back to consistently doing these strength workouts
8 Miles (1:04:43) Roads - easy
Shoes - Hoka Bondi B's
Nice easy run. 75 degrees and sunny. Felt good.

Saturday 5/14
am. 20 miles (3:15:55) Power lines
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Tough run. Had no energy, but was able to keep going like the energizer bunny.

Saturday/Sunday 5/15
24.1 Miles (3:46:55) Roads
Shoes - Hoka Bondi B's
Decided to go out at 9:22pm. Two long runs in one day makes Nate a sleepy boy. Saw a bear on the dark bike path about three miles into the run. I had my music on and didn't hear him. Was about three feet away from him when we both realized each other was there. He ran up a tree and I almost shit my pants.

Total
100.4 miles
45 min strength
10 min elliptical

Failing with my mission

2011-05-08T19:50:00.000-04:00

I really feel like I'm failing with what I intended this blog to be. When I decided to commit to trying to run a 100 mile race a month for 5 months, rather than just train for one like I have for the past three years, I really got excited about documenting the process of getting ready. I was hoping that through my blog, and eventually a book, I might be able to inspire somebody to try to take on that big challenge they may have been contemplating.

I think that it is human nature to be impressed when we hear of somebody doing something big or successful. We tend to put those people on a pedestal. What I am hoping to do is illustrate that behind every big accomplishment is a lot of focus, hard work, dedication and belief that the task can be accomplished.

We listen to beautiful music, but don't see the hours and hours of practice. We don't hear the endless retakes in the studio until it is just right.   We watch movies with incredible performances, and are unaware of the huge amount of work it takes to make the scene work. We watch seemingly super human feats of daredevils on snowboards, motocross bikes, etc but don't think about the painful crashes that it takes over and over before they get it right.

Last night I was thinking about how long it has been since I just slept in on a Sunday and rolled out of bed to casually have a cup of coffee and read the paper. I'm getting more and more tired as the intensity and distance of my workouts increase. It is these days that I want everybody to see after I have achieved this big goal.   I want everybody to see that when I get up the first few steps are stiff. My ankle is sore, my knee aches and my hamstrings feel like somebody shortened them by 2 inches as I slept.

This morning I got up at 5am and was out the door by 6 to run 30 miles of roads. The thought of failing the run across NH for the third time overcame my weary body. So I got up and did the work.   And you know what? There were times today that it hurt. Actually, it hurts all the time, but I work hard on overcoming it because I want that end goal. When I'm all done with this experiment this summer I don't want anybody to think that I have some special gift for running. I want them to realize that they can have more out of their life. I want them to realize that ordinary people can do extraordinary things.

This weeks training recap:

Monday 5/2
30 minutes strength training
8 miles (1:05:27) Easy
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Colorado - Nicer run this morning outside on the paths and trails. Saw tons of deer

Tuesday 5/3
14 miles (1:53:09) Hill Workout
Shoes - Altra Instincts
A little over 3 miles of warmup on the power lines, then 1 mile hill intervals. Did 3 ups and three downs, felt good today. Lots of hunters on the trails.

Wednesday 5/4
8 miles (1:02:45) Easy
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Nice and easy run to try to recover a bit from yesterdays hill workout. Felt excellent, although a little tight in the hammys.

Thursday 5/5
15.25 miles (2:10:49) Hill Workout
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Hard workout. Did a couple of miles of warmup then 1/2 mile hill intervals. Fairly steep powerlines hill with a couple of mudholes in the middle. Did 5 ups and 5 downs (sprinted down at about a 6mm flat pace). All trails today were souply and muddy. Feet were soaked the entire run, which is great training. Felt pretty tired the last couple miles.

Friday 5/6
8 miles (1:11:07) Easy
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Took it nice and easy on the snowmobile trails.

Saturday 5/7
10 miles (1:24:31) Fartlek Speedwork
Shoes - Merrell Trail Glove
Ran on the snowmobile trails. 4 miles at a fairly easy pace then 5 miles of 1min hard then 4 min easy. I felt really good this morning. Light on my feet and strong.

Sunday 5/8
30.1 miles (4:23:12) Easy paved roads
Shoes - Hoka One One
To help get mentally ready and to test shoes on pavement, I ran part of the Run Across NH route. Wanted to try the Hokas for a long run to see how they fit. Not that difficult of a run. Blister on my pinky toe was the only thing that bothered me. Felt very good the rest of the day. Doesn't feel like I ran 30 miles.

Total
93.3 miles
30 minutes of strength training

A Lesson in Pride and Heritage

2011-05-03T19:54:00.001-04:00

This last week Amy and I traveled to Denver Colorado for a Real Estate Investing program that we are participating in. We always have a great time when we travel together, but we missed the kids a lot. On Sunday night, our last night in town, we decided to try something different for dinner. I hopped onto Yelp and tried to locate a great restaurant. There are tons and tons of high rated Pho and Thai places, but one place caught my eye. There were some great reviews on a place simply called "African Grill and Bar".

This is the entrance to the African Gill & Bar in Aurora, Colorado

Amy and I had actually decided to go to the Thai place because we both wanted something spicy. As we pulled into the parking lot we realized that the African place was right next door so we decided to check out the menu on the door. As we were looking and trying to figure out what all these unique dishes were the owner opened the door and tried to hand us some take out menus. He had a huge smile on his face. We told him that we didn't need the menu, we were coming in to eat. He seemed positively delighted.

As we walked in the very small space we immediately noticed that every person who was eating looked like they were from Africa. They were speaking an unfamiliar language and eating unfamiliar food. We took that as a good sign! If you want good Asian food, find the place where all the Asians eat. If you want good Mexican food, find the place where all the Mexicans eat. It looked like we were in the right place.

The owner was excited when we told him that we wanted him to pick out our dinner. The menu was huge and we had no clue what most of the things were. We told him that we wanted spicy. He clarified what level of spicy we liked then recommended the Fufu. Fufu is a ball of mashed plantains in a very pungent chili sauce that comes with different types of meat. We chose Goat on his recommendation. You eat fufu with your hands so they brought out a bowl to wash our hands in first.

Goat Fufu

It was one of the most satisfying things I've ever eaten. The goat was very tender, especially for goat, and the plantain mash mixed with chili was incredible. We watched the locals checking us out to see if we were going to run for cover and they were pretty amused when we didn't.

I asked him what type of beer they had and he went down the usual list of brands. I asked him what would be the appropriate drink for the area and his huge smile returned. He went into the kitchen and returned with a plastic bottle of Popov vodka that was full of stuff. The vodka had a brown hue and he asked me if I could identify what was in the bottle. It looked like mushroom stems. He told me that it was cloves, roots, ginger and brought out a bag of it so I could see what it looked like dry. When he poured it into a glass there were bits of wood in it. I laughed and enjoyed the experience. It was actually very good and had a nice subtle quality to it. It matched the food perfectly.

For the next course we had fried fish with jollaf rice and fried plantains. We had the option to get the fish boneless or bone in. He was very happy when we told him to bring it bone-in. Again, it was excellent. During dinner a little girl, I believe to be the owners daughter, came up to me and handed me a Styrofoam cup. She was adorable and just looked at me. I thanked her for the cup then handed it back. Amy called me a dummy and told me that she wanted some of my water. I filled her glass and she took a sip and left. She played this game with me the entire night. She was hilarious.

As we were finishing dinner the owners wife brought us out each a little donut and asked us if we could identify what it was made of. It had a spicy aroma and a nice crispy texture. I couldn't figure out what it was and she said that it was made with beans.

As we were paying for our check we talked more with the owner and also with a man who had been having dinner at the same time with us. He said "you must have been to Ghana before." When we told him that we hadn't he was surprised. He said that most people who had not been there aren't as adventurous as we were and he was sure that we were not going to know what to do with the food when it came out. I think we were the evenings amusement for many folks.

The bill for the evening came to a whopping $37. I have paid more for a single entree before.

Amy and I left with an overwhelming feeling that we had just experienced what food is supposed to be about. The sense of community and pride in their heritage was all expressed with the food. We felt like somebody welcomed us into their home and was delighted with the opportunity to tell us about their county, bite by bite.

While the trip was originally about discovering business opportunities, we were fortunate enough to have a evening that we will never forget.

Summer of Potential - and pain??

2011-04-24T20:14:00.001-04:00

Announcing the

Who - Nathan Sanel. Ultra-Marathon runner, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker.

What - One run or race of 100 miles or greater per month for five months in a row.

When and Where - The runs include:
1. June 25-26    Western States 100
2. July 16-17     Vermont 100
3. Aug20-21      Leadville 100
4. Sept23-24     Bear 100
5. Oct 15-16     Run Across New Hampshire (124 miles)

Why - To illustrate that people have much greater potential than they realize and motivate others to go after Big Hairy Audacious Goals (B.H.A.G.'s) within their lifetime.

Bow NH - January 2011 After receiving a coveted spot in the Western States 100 Ultra marathon Nathan Sanel decided to use the event as a catalyst for an even greater challenge. The "Grand Slam" of Ultra marathons includes attempting to complete 4 difficult 100 mile running races in the United States in 4 months. Denied entry to the Wasatch 100, Nathan couldn't allow that to stop his dream of tackling such a daunting endeavor. The Bear 100, an equally challenging race in Utah would provide an excellent substitute. To add an even tougher twist, he has decided to run the 124 miles across NH at its widest point. A feat that he has tried twice and failed to complete.

Typically most Ultra runners train for months to compete in one or two 100 mile races per year. Recovery time for a marathon (26.2 miles) is commonly
acknowledged as being one day per mile ran. That would mean a typical recovery of about three months.

"Most people have big dreams. Many don't realize their full potential in pursuing them. With dedication, a burning desire and a plan they can achieve those goals. I am an ordinary person taking on a big challenge that I'm not sure I can complete. I'm blogging about the process to show how I'm going after my dream. My hope is that it may inspire others to do the same."

You can follow Nathan's training and race progress at http://www.bikernate.blogspot.com/

Weekly Training Recap - 4/18 - 4/24

2011-04-24T19:52:00.000-04:00

A little bit later tonight I will be posting about my 5 100 mile runs in 5 months. Since I've been working on that most of the night, I'm only going to post a short recap of my weekly training.

This week was the first time this year that I did back to back runs of 20 milers or more. Saturday I ran 20 miles and today I ran 22 miles. Saturdays run was interesting because it was cold, raining and snowing! Sometimes it's pretty hard to get out the door at 5:30 in the morning in that weather when you know you are going to be out there for three hours.

My body is still holding up and I'm feeling pretty good. I got my new Altra Shoes on Wednesday and I've run every day in them since then. If you want to read about them, check out my product review here.

Monday 4/18
6 Miles (51:13) Easy - roads
Shoes - Hoka One Ones
I'm looking forward to this soreness in my legs going away!

Tuesday 4/19
8 Miles (1:01:05) Easy - roads
Shoes - Hoka One Ones
Quads still hurt on the downhills, but I'm starting to feel better.

Wednesday 4/20
14 Miles (1:59:52) Hill Workout - Powerlines trails
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Great run!!! First run in the new Altras and I am in love. Did 3 .5 mile hill repeats (.5m up, immediate turn around then .5 back down) and my legs are finally starting to come back to life. The wettest, muddiest, rockiest run of the year so far.

Thursday 4/21
8 Miles (forgot to record time) Easy - roads/trails
Shoes - Altra Instincts
3 Miles of roads total, 5 miles of trails. Went on a more hilly route, will be doing so as much as possible from now on.

Friday 4/22
6 Miles (49:15) Hill Workout - Snowmobile Trails
Shoes - Altra Instincts
About 2 miles of warmup then 4 hill sprints. 60 seconds up, immediate sprint back down with about a minute rest in between. The rest of the run was done at a nice easy pace.

Saturday 4/23
20 Miles (2:58:33) Long run - Snowmobile Trails
Shoes - Altra Instincts
Great run this morning. It felt pretty easy to do 20 miles. Trails are getting better, but still pretty sloppy.

Sunday 4/24
22.15 Miles (3:24:55) Long run - Snowmobile Trails
Shoes - Altra Instincts
I ran the first 12 miles alone then met up with Ron for the last 10. Great run, still feel very good and strong.

Weekly total
84.2 Miles

Altra Instinct Zero Drop Shoes - Product Review

2011-04-20T19:52:00.001-04:00

Altra Instincts

Anybody who runs with me knows that I am a complete shoe junky. At first running was attractive to me because it was simple. All you need is a pair of shoes and a pair of shorts. But when I started running longer distances I discovered that different types of shoes worked for different conditions. At the very least I needed an off road shoe and a road shoe. Looking at my equipment list on my running journal I can count 36 different pairs of shoes. That's just in the last 3 years. That means on average I buy a pair of shoes per month. Recently I did a post called "Shoe Fetish" of the current shoes that I am using the most and I revealed that I regularly use 5 different pairs of shoes.

Preparing for my Potential Le'Painful Summer 500 (+) (5 one hundred mile races in 5 months) has had me pondering what shoes I should use. When running a 100 mile race I have a number of concerns when it comes to my feet. I have never run a 100 without suffering from blisters. Blisters slow me down and make me miserable. They usually get bad around the 80 mile mark get worse from there, depending on the conditions. I read about people bragging of doing a 100 without any blisters and I am green with envy. They would be so much more enjoyable without them. The other thing I'm looking for in a shoe is protection. Your feet get sore running 100 miles!!

As I have changed my running style and form I have found that I love the feel of minimal shoes. I have three pairs of Five Fingers. I have a pair of Inov-8 flite 230's that I love (except for the pointy toe box). I have a pair of the new Merrell Trail Gloves which have zero drop and fit great. I love to run in these shoes, but I would not even consider using any of them for a 100 mile race. For the last 6 months I've been searching for a shoe that is flexible, has less than a 4mm difference between the heel and forefoot, has a great toe-box that won't pinch my toes and has enough cushioning to let me run for 20 hours or so in all types of conditions.

I ran across a post on my friend Pete's blog, Runblogger, about Altra Shoes. They appeared to be exactly what I've been looking for. Unfortunately they weren't available yet. I emailed one of the three owners, Brian Beckstead and asked if there was any way I could get my hands on a pair. After a few emails back and forth explaining why I'm doing the 5 hundred milers he said that Altra would be interested in sponsoring me by providing the shoes.

Brian and Jeremy

I was honored, but I was also hesitant. I change my shoes like most people change their underwear. If I accepted shoes and they didn't work I would feel obligated to use them. The last thing I need is to wear shoes that are not correct. I told Brian that if I got a pair, which I was willing to pay for, and I liked them then I would gladly wear Altras on my runs. Brian told me that the Lone Peak wouldn't be available for a while, but he felt that I could easily run my first race, the Western States 100, in the road shoes (Instinct).

After meeting Brian at the Boston Marathon Expo I finally got my pair of Instincts. Today I did my first run in them and I was not nice to them. If I am going to run an off road race in road shoes I want to know that they can really take it. I visited my old stomping grounds, the power lines up the street from me, for the first time this year. I usually don't go up there this early, as it is brutally muddy, rocky and wet. So much so it's hard to run there until it dries out. Perfect test for the Altras!

The last time they will ever be clean

The first time I put on the shoes I couldn't help compare the fit to the Merrell Trail Gloves. Until this point, the Merrells have been the best fitting shoes I've ever used so we were off to a great start. Being sensitive to flexibility, I then tested to see if they were stiff. I have read from some barefoot fanatics that they felt that the Instincts are stiff. They are not. No, they aren't like five fingers, but they easily move when you flex your foot. They feel like normal running shoes as far as protection goes, but without the bulky heel. The best part of the shoes is the toe-box. Your toes have plenty of room to splay, but the rest of the shoe doesn't feel sloppy or loose. They were instantly comfortable.

Heading out to the trail I have about a mile of pavement. I was able to run like I was barefoot, but had a nice level of cushioning underfoot. As I turned onto the trail I almost hesitated to go further and ruin the shoes. The trail was a mess!!

First mud!

I was thinking, I hope I got the right size because I'll never be able to exchange them after this! And away I went. What I wanted to test was their ability to drain, how the toe-box felt on descents (if my foot slipped to the front and hammered my toes) and the traction. The traction was a concern because of the minimal tread pattern. I was shocked to discover that they had more than enough traction. Some of that is due to the short stride that I've developed, but on rocks and in the wet they were great. Way better than I expected.

I decided to throw caution to the wind and just barrel through everything in my way. I was very curious to see how the shoes would handle rocks, as there is no rock plate in the soles. That's one of the major differences between the Instincts and the Lone Peaks. The shoes were great. I could land right on the rocks and they had more than enough protection to keep me happy.

Steep with lots of baby heads

Next up, hill repeats. There is a steep half mile hill that as you can see above is pretty rocky. I sprinted up and immediately back down three times, with a short rest in between sets. Running downhill was awesome. I was able to keep a forefoot striking stride, but didn't have to pussy foot it like I normally do in minimal shoes. The extra thickness of the soles of the Altras was perfect. Even better, my foot stayed in place and my toes stayed nice and relaxed. Most shoes have me curling my toes, or pulling them in away from the front of the shoe trying not get mashed.

After my repeats I just enjoyed the rest of the miles at a nice pace. There was lots of mud!

MUD!!

What I did to these shoes on this first run was totally unfair. These are their road shoes!!! During the run I just kept thinking about how much I loved the shoes. I ran 14 miles. 2 miles were pavement and the rest were off road. I can't wait to put a ton more miles on them. At this point I can honestly say that for the first time I have one pair of shoes that I can use for everything. Obviously I need to put a lot more miles on them to get the complete story, but for now I'm smitten. And I can't wait to put them on tomorrow and go for another run. Thank you Altra!

As a side note, Altra has experienced an overwhelming response for their shoes. The first batch of shoes that landed in the stores have been selling at a months worth of supply in a week. You can buy the shoes directly online at www.altrarunning.com. You can also check to see if your local running store carries them. Altra is looking for more distribution so if you know of a good running store who understands the benefit of running without a bulky raised heel send Altra an email or tell the store to give them a call.

Traprock 50k Race Report

2011-04-17T20:15:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I tested my legs and lungs for the first race of the year, the Connecticut Traprock 50k. This is only the second year for the race. Last year it drew about 30 entrants, this year about 150. I decided that rather than driving the three hours in the morning before the race I would stay at a hotel and enjoy the late race start of 8:30am. To make the most of the weekend I left Friday afternoon to go to the Boston Marathon expo. I have heard that it is the biggest and best running expo in the world. I was hoping to pick up lots of schwag and talk running to like minded folks.

I picked up my friend Ron at his office in Manchester and we took the hour drive to the expo. We fumbled our way in the city a bit and finally found a parking lot. I promised Ron that there was no way in hell I was ever going to find my car again. Luckily I wrote down the location of where I parked and we found our way into the expo hall. We ate a great lunch at a place that served every variation of salads and wraps and headed into the expo right as it opened at 2.

While Ron picked up his bib for Mondays marathon, I made my way over to the Altra booth to finally meet Brian, one of the owners.

I was super excited to get my shoes, the Altra Instincts. It turned out that one of the boxes hadn't been delivered to the expo. Of course, it was the box with my sized shoes. Luckily Ron is picking them up for me and bringing them over today. I tried on a few pairs and had a great time chatting with Brian. Its very cool to see the owner of a shoe company also be an Ultra runner. We talked about The Bear 100 since he has run it before. He told me enough about the course to scare me.

Altra Instincts - Zero Drop, Cushioned shoes.

Ron headed back to NH with another friend and I headed down to Ct to stay at the hotel. I was psyched that I was staying at the Hyatt Summerfield Suites. For $98 I got a huge room with a full kitchen and little living room. I ate some brown rice with avocado sliced over it, had a banana and for desert had a piece of wholegrain bread with almond butter. It was so nice being able to eat the way I like and not having to eat out where I can't find any food options. I was in bed by 10 and slept great.

In the morning I made my way over to the parking lot of the Penwood State park and found the main parking lot already full. I parked across the street and headed over with my drop bag full of race fuel and extra supplies. They were serving Gatorade at the aid stations which are located approximately every 3 miles on the course so I was set with fluids. While I was standing in the registration line I started to realize how cold it was. I was shivering badly even though I had an extra sweatshirt on. I chatted a bit with Brian Rusiecki, a perennial top runner and super nice guy. The line moved pretty slowly but soon enough I was registered and ready to go. My race number was 69....that means that they could read my number even if I was upside down on the course...After the race briefing from the RD, who told us "If you get lost on this course you should take up road running" we were off right on time. The course is a rocky, hilly route that has about 2000ft of elevation gain/loss per loop. Each loop is 10.5 - 11 miles (they never really say exactly how long it is) and the 50k racers do it three times. The race starts by going a couple hundred feet then immediately heads strait up a steep hill.

First Hill, just moments after the start/finish line.

There is a lot of climbing early on in the race. Just a few miles in you go up a section called the "Stairway to Heaven. It's steep!! Luckily it doesn't last to long.

Stairway to Heaven

When you get to the top of the Stairway it levels off for a few feet and then goes up again!

I had decided to wear my Inov-8 flite 230 shoes. I was not sure if I was making the right choice since the course if pretty rocky and rooty and these shoes have no rock protection and not much traction. They turned out to be excellent for everything except rocky descents where I had to be careful to not stub my toes. For the first loop I ran with my friend Adam Wilcox. Neither of us planned to run together, but we were just on the same pace. It was great running with him and I was chatting away, doing my best to annoy him. He was much stronger than me on the downhills and was running with reckless abandon while I was being much more careful. At that point I was stronger than him on the uphills so he would take off on my on the downhills and I would catch him on the uphills. On the flats we were running the same pace. We finished the first loop in 1 hour 30 minutes and I was right on track for my race pace goal. I was hoping to finish around 4:30 but never seeing the course before I wasn't sure if that was a reasonable goal.

At one point, I think it was the second loop, Adam took off flying on a downhill. I was actually thinking "holy shit, that's ballsy in this section" since it was so rocky. I lost sight of him and then a saw him off course clutching his shin. He had wiped out and slammed his shin against a rock. He was wincing in pain I was worried that he really hurt himself. He said he was OK and I took off.

It is tough being in these situations. Adam is a friend and even though I was pumped up to race, it is more important to me to make sure he wasn't hurt. The course has many points where you go past other racers since it is an out and back with a short lollipop loop in the middle. I was happy so see Adam a little bit later and he said he was OK. As the race progressed I realized that I was in the top ten. I had really tried to not go out to hard but I was starting to feel it in my quads and I was concerned that I had done what I usually do. I always seem to go to hard at the beginning of my races. Its not that I'm going balls out, its just that when I feel good I run my normal pace forgetting that I need to save something for later.

I started really running low on energy near the end of the second loop. I was eating very well, but I might not have been drinking enough. Instead of using my handheld bottle I used my waist bottle pack. Since the bottle wasn't in my hand I don't think I was as aware of my need to drink. For the first loop I didn't even drink an entire 20 ounce bottle. I started taking endurolite caps since my quads were already starting to feel achy. I was hoping that it wouldn't lead to cramping.

One section of the loop is a 1.5 mile paved road and near the end of the road is a picnic bench. Right before the bench I started feeling a pinch on the bottom of my left foot. It felt like the beginning of a blister and I couldn't believe it. It wasn't wet and there was no reason that I should have any blisters. I realized that I had a rock in my shoe and I had a seat on the bench and emptied both my shoes. Much better!

On my way out for the third and final loop I really started to feel bad. I was passed by two people and that messed with my mind. My quads were now feeling thrashed and I was eating more salt tabs then I ever have trying to prevent them from cramping. I also really focused on my drinking to help. At one point the strangest thing happened. I was all alone on the course, feeling low on my energy, and I felt like crying. I wasn't upset about anything, I wasn't going to stop or give up, but I was just a ball of emotion. I have never, ever felt like this in a race before. It is very hard to explain. I think it was purely physical.

Luckily it didn't last long and I really focused on just keeping moving. I started counting the people in front of me and realized that I was in 10th place. It was very helpful. How could I be upset when I was in the top 10? My mission then became to not lose any spots. I wanted badly to finish in the top ten, regardless of what my time was. On the lollipop loop I was able to see how far behind me 11th place was. he was about 1/2 a mile back and he looked really strong. It provided great incentive to keep moving. My quads were cramping on every uphill but I felt good on the flats. I stubbed my right bid toe three or four times on that last loop as I wasn't picking up my feet as well as I should have been.

With less than a mile to go I put my nose to the grindstone. I had no idea if the guy behind me was catching me but I knew I was going to give it my all. On the last climb I spotted somebody in front of me and I decided to do everything to catch him. At the top of the hill I blew by him and now I only had the last downhill to go. I ran as fast as I could hoping not to wipe out. I forgot to look at the clock as I finished but stopped my watch a few seconds later and it said 4:50. I confirmed that I finished in 9th place with some friends but I still have not seen the official results. Adam ended up catching our friend Ryan really close to the end and finished in 5th place! He's having an incredible year and I'm happy for him.

Its strange, but I feel sort of disappointed with my finish. I shouldn't be, but I thought that my endurance was better. I really thought that I should have been able to keep up my early pace for the entire race. Coach Jack doesn't seem to believe in tapers, he calls them "mini tapers". I ended up running 86 miles last week and perhaps that had some impact. Regardless, I have to put it in perspective. This race was only supposed to be a fitness check. It wasn't an "A Goal" race. I am very happy to have finished in 9th. My challenge this year is to finish a bunch of hundred mile races so I need to work on my endurance and strength, not as much my speed in shorter races. For today, I'm happy to be healthy and to have finished well in my first race of the year.

This weeks mileage recap:

Monday 4/11
7 Miles (57:21)
Shoes - Hoka One One
Legs were tired from yesterdays long run

Tuesday 4/12
14 Miles (2:05:14) Fartlek run
Shoes - Merrell Trail Glove
First half of the run I felt like crap. Tired and the trails were very sloppy and hard to keep a smooth pace on. As soon as I started my fartleks I felt better. I ran the first 7 miles as a warmup. I ran 1 min bursts at a 6:45 - 7:15 pace then 4 minutes easy for the next 5 miles. Last two miles I ran easy.

Wednesday 4/13
7 Miles (54:07)
Shoes - Hoka One One
Ran easy today and felt good

Thursday 4/14
6 Miles (46:15) Tempo Run
Shoes - Hoka One One
Did 3 miles of warmup in 25:09 (8:22 pace), then 2 miles in 13:43 (6:53 pace) then 1 mile cool down in 7:19. Felt very easy this morning.

Friday 4/15
4 Miles (30:36)
Shoes - Hoka One One
Felt good, I'm ready to race!

Saturday 4/16
Traprock 50K (31 Miles - 4:50)
Shoes - Inov8 Flite 230
Good enough for 9th place. First loop 1:30, second 1:36, third 1:44. Fought quad cramping most of the last loop.

Sunday 4/17
3 Miles (24:19)
Shoes - Hoka One One
My quads hurt sooo bad when I started. I can't believe that this run ended up at a 8mm pace. I am really sore.

Weekly total
72.1 Miles (10:27:52)

Fear is a life killer

2011-04-10T21:04:00.000-04:00

Recently I picked back up a book that means a lot to me. "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill was written over 70 years ago and has inspired countless scores of people. As I was flipping through it I ended up at chapter 15. It is titled "How to Outwit the 6 Ghosts of Fear". It really is amazing how powerful the written word is. I instantly received an attitude adjustment. I realized that some of the things that I have been procrastinating on are due to fear. I just didn't realize that it was fear that was holding me back. It reminded me how Fear ruins lives. I am as guilty as anybody of having that terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach of being afraid. Reading this brought me back to focusing on what I want and believing that I can accomplish it. Fear will not get the best of me. Fear is my enemy. Here is a link to the chapter. Hopefully it will inspire you as much as it did me. If you have not read the book yet I highly recommend it.

Here is this weeks training recap:

Monday 4/4
7 Miles (1:01:15)
Went super easy, making sure that I don't hurt my calf anymore. Wore my clown shoes (Hoka's) and everything went ok.

Tuesday 4/5
8 Miles (1:05:16)
Another easy run in my clown shoes.

Wednesday 4/6
14 Miles (2:04:48)
Awesome run. Trails were soupy, muddy, wet and had patches of glare ice. Calf didn't hurt.

Thursday 4/7
8.5 Miles (1:09:54)
Awesome run again. Felt super good. Pretty good pace for hilly, sloppy off road run.

Friday 4/8
8 Miles (58:26)
Felt good this morning so I picked up the pace. Ran my road route in my Hokas. The first 4 miles were at a tad under 8min pace, the last 4 were at 6:30 pace.

Saturday 4/9
Morning - 9 Miles (1:11:15)
Ran to work.

Afternoon - 9.25 Miles (1:11:32)
Ran home from work. Beautiful day.

Sunday 4/3
22 Miles (3:05:18)
4 miles of pavement to get to the trail, so I ran 8 miles of pavement total out of the 22 since it is an out and back. Tried the new Saucony Peregrines. Great shoe, but toebox is to narrow. The majority of the run was muddy, sloppy, wet snowmobile trails. Pushed myself a bit on the second half of the run. Feeling the mileage of the week for sure.

Weekly totals
85.7 Miles (11:47:44)
No strength training.

Don't look Ethel!!!

2011-04-06T20:13:00.000-04:00

Oh, yes, they call him the Streak

Boogity, Boogity

Fastest thing on two feet

Boogity, Boogity

He's just as proud as he can be

Of his anatomy

He goin' give us a peek.

Today marks 100 days in a row that I have gone for a run. In the running world they call it a "Streak". In that time period I have run 1057 miles, which averages out to 10.6 miles (duh..) per day. In the last 100 days the shortest run I have done is 4.2 miles and the longest is 31 miles.

I'm not posting this to show off how much I am running. I want to get back to my original reason for writing this blog. My hope is to help regular people to realize that they can accomplish extraordinary things. I have written a lot lately about my BHAG of running 5 100 mile runs in 5 months, but this running streak more truly represents how little things can turn into big things. Indeed, more often than not, little ideas grow into big accomplishments.

100 days ago my streak started because coach Jack gave me a new training schedule. He told me that if I am going to be running 80 to 100 mile weeks consistently that I needed to start running every day. I had been running 5 to 6 days a week for the past two years and truly believed that the rest days were important to my recovery and building of endurance.

"Sherpa" John streaking

Just a few days later, by pure coincidence, my friend Sherpa John Lacroix issued a challenge to a group of friends to participate in a contest to see who could run at least 2 miles a day for about two months. The contest started on New Years day. It was a fun contest and included bonus points for doing things like running nude a certain day (I didn't do it) and the highest overall mileage. I ended up winning the challenge and since my running schedule still includes running every day my streak is still alive.

I never planned on this becoming a "thing" but I have discovered that my body is responding very well to running every day. Last week when I went to Florida I already had 84 miles for the week by Saturday. We flew out on Sunday and after getting up super early and traveling the last thing I wanted to do is run. But I couldn't let my streak die because around day 75 I committed to getting in at least 100 days. That way I could write about it here! It also has become a challenge to myself to see how long I can keep it going.

When I look back at how National Powersports started I can see how it parallels this streak. At first I didn't have a BHAG to be the biggest motorcycle wholesaler in the US. All I wanted to do was make a little extra money on the side because my mutual funds were tanking. I simply bought a motorcycle, fixed it up and sold it. I could have easily just kept it as a little side project. It turned into a BHAG not to much later when I recognized that what I was doing had HUGE potential and could be scaled and grown. That's the difference between doing something BIG and staying small, recognizing the potential and not being afraid to go after it.

Sometimes when I come up with big ideas, I get paralyzed with the enormity of it all. If that happens, chances are I end up doing nothing and getting frustrated. I can tell you that the first run I took around my neighborhood of 2 miles left me so crippled for the next three days that there is no way at that point I could have imagined being able to run 100 miles at a time. Over time, and with practice, that vision grew. One step at a time.

I have to remind myself that I don't always have to know every detail of how I'm going to get to the finish line. I just have to start moving towards it. I have to have faith that whatever happens will be abundant and good, even if it takes me in a completely different direction than where I thought it would.

Lighten up Francis

2011-04-03T19:17:00.000-04:00

This week I took a week off from my training, diet and work (as much as I could) to take a vacation with the Sanel family. Me, Amy, Max, and Isabel left Sunday morning to stay at the Disney Saratoga Springs resort in Orlando Florida.

Saratoga Springs Disney

Looking at my training schedule for the week I had a pretty good idea that I was not going to be able to get in the almost 90 miles coach Jack had planned for me. The only way I was going to be able to do it was to get up at 5am each morning and go while the family was sleeping. For once I gave myself a rare break and took a "take it as it goes" approach. I figured that it wouldn't hurt since I have been putting in consistent 80 plus mile weeks for the past 5 weeks and even ran 31 miles on Saturday before we left. A cutback week might actually be nice! Over the course of the week I did things like have big lunches (more like having a dinner before dinner) and I drank way more than I usually do. Its liberating letting go and having a good time. I did still manage to get in 60 miles this week, so it's not like I didn't run at all. I also finished up the month of March at 355.2 miles which is my biggest March ever.

Amy I planned from the start to let loose and have a good time on this vacation. Then when the week was over we would really get back on the ball with training and diet. I am going back to my strict low GI diet starting now. I've got 3 months to get in tip top shape before I toe the line for my first 100 miler of the year, the Western States 100.

The running in Disney is lame and boring. Most mornings consisted of running between our resort and Old Key West, multiple times. One very cool thing did happen though. I was running on the golf cart path between the two resorts when I noticed what at first appeared to be a cat in the woods. Then I realized that it's head was way to big to be a domestic cat. As I got closer I could see that it was a bobcat! I've never seen one in the wild and it was only about 50ft away.

Here is this weeks training recap:

Monday 3/28
7.5 Miles (1 hour)
Easy run on the treadmill at the gym

Tuesday 3/29
7 Miles (56:30)
Another easy treadmill run. Feeling tired from Saturdays 31 miler still.

Wednesday 3/30
9 Miles (1:15:02)
Hot and Humid. Body still feeling tired and heat is not helping.

Thursday 3/31
7 Miles (54:54)
Tornado warnings outside with lots of lightning and pouring rain. Treadmill was best option.
Strength Training (45 minutes)
Wish I had this type of equipment at home. Much better workout than normal and I can feel it.

Friday 4/1
10.25 Miles (1:23:13)
Much nicer morning. Great running weather. Saw a bobcat on my run.

Saturday 4/2
10 Miles (1:21:05)
I really hate running boring paths over and over. Disney is not a great place to run if you want to do any type of mileage. It was nice running in just shorts though. Right calf cramped 8 miles in. Weird. Ate a gel and it went away.

Sunday 4/3
10 Miles (1:27:28)
It is so good to be home and running the muddy, wet, snowy trails again. That feels like running to me, not running sidewalks in Florida. A little concerned. That calf cramp from yesterday returned. Its not a cramp, but a pull. Started to hurt about 5 miles in. Going to do the usual rehab (ice, ibuprofen, massage).

Weekly totals
60.7 Miles
45 Minutes Strength training.

The "A.R.T." of staying injury free

2011-03-27T20:50:00.013-04:00

One of my biggest concerns with running five hundred mile runs in five months is keeping my body injury free. I have suffered from chronic anterior tibialus tendinitis for the past few years. It started with a stress fracture that was the result of attempting to run 124 miles across the state of NH in 2008. At the time I blamed it on the relentless pounding that hours and hours of running on pavement does. One Year later, after a successful year of racing injury free, I again ran into this problem when attempting for the second time to run across the state.

At the time I chalked it up to just being at the end of a long season of training and racing. Or maybe it was the pavement again. Each time I would run into it I would be forced to reduce my milage from 70-80 miles per week to about 30-35. I would spend time on the elliptical or running very easy on the treadmill to recover.

Last year I decided to try for a marathon PR, rather than risk it again. My coach changed my training to include much more speed work. I was feeling really good until a couple weeks before the marathon when the tendinitis monster crept up on me again.

I got my PR (3:15:10) at the very hilly Manchester NH marathon and was right back in the recovery mode. My ankle/shin were once again killing me. During this time one of my employees, who just happens to be a wicked fast pro triathlete, said that my problem might be caused by heel striking. I had been playing with more minimal shoes and modifying my running form to more of a mid/forefoot strike, but I could only do it so long before I would revert back to mild heel striking.

I decided to give it a better effort and began to really work on my form. The work started in October and only recently can I honestly say that my form is now transformed. One of the biggest part of modifying my form has been a switch to shoes that have at the most 4mm of difference between the heel and forefoot. This prevents my heel from slamming into the ground before the rest of my foot, reducing the amount of stress on my ankle tendon. Recently I did a 22 mile run in a pair of shoes that have a 7mm differential and my shin bothered me for days.

I realized that I need to do more than just watch my form. At Amy's urging I made an appointment with Dr. Brett Coapeland. Brett owns Performance Health in Concord, NH. He specializes in A.R.T. (active release therapy). It is very different than the PT that I have experienced in the past. Brett finds the trouble area then holds it as he has you work against it which releases the tension in the muscle or tendon. I did a little work with Brett before the marathon on my ridiculously tight hamstrings and it helped a lot. We have now come up with a plan to work on the tendinitis before it turns into something worse.

My first appointment was this Thursday and after checking to make sure it really was the anterior tibialus that is the problem (it is) he did his ART and then he did something I didn't expect. He put five acupuncture needles in my shin! He told me that what he was doing is called dry needling. It is used on areas of tension to release tension. I couldn't even feel them being put in and all I had to do was sit with my shin relaxed for a little while.

I am really psyched to be working with Brett. He really understands what I'm trying to do with my training and racing. He also is a triathlete and he has even run the VT100!

To test his work I ran 31 miles yesterday and everything is feeling great. Hopefully the combination of using low or zero drop shoes combined with mid foot running and Bretts care will keep me on my feet this year and not on the sidelines.

Here is this weeks training recap:

3-21-2011
Monday - 7.1 Miles (1:00:15)Ran very easy for the first few miles before I loosened up. Nice slow easy run, feeling good.

3-22-2011
Tuesday - 8 Miles (1:09:23). Ran very easy, felt good.

3-23-2011
Wednesday - 9.62 Miles (1:20:01)Roads and Trails. Cut the run short because I had to get to the auction.

3-24-2011
Thursday Morning - 10 Minutes on Elliptical (warmup for workout)
Thursday Morning - 45 Minutes Strength Training
Thursday Afternoon - 14.1Miles (2:05:09)Felt great today. Took a fairly hilly route and just took it easy.

3-25-2011
Friday - 14 Miles (2:00:28)Ran very hilly route, all roads. Saw 2 big deer.

3-26-2011
Saturday - 31 Miles (4:40:47)Ran 4.5 miles to Rons house, picked him up and did an eight mile loop. A couple miles to the trailhead then 7 miles of snowy trails. The rest roads. I felt pretty tired for the first 10 or so, then I felt better. At the end I felt awesome. I had 28 on the schedule, but decided if I was that close to 30 thats what I should shoot for. As I got close to the end I decided I might as well do a full 50k because I felt so good.

3-27-2011
Sunday - 4.25 Miles (36:31)
Couldnt run this morning because we got up at 3am to fly to Florida. Ran in the afternoon trying to figure out where the hell anything was. It was 90 degrees out and I was very tight from yesterdays run.
Totals
88.1 Miles
12:52:34 Hours running
45 Min Strength training
10 Min Eliptical machine

124 Miles of Pavement?

2011-03-20T19:01:00.000-04:00

Logan UT, where "The Bear 100" is raced

This week I finally signed up for the fourth of my five hundred mile races. "The Bear 100" in Logan UT looks to be a very tough challenge, but then again when is running 100 miles not a challenge? The Bear has 22,000 ft of elevation gain/loss and has a maximum elevation of 9000 ft. It is almost exactly one month after Leadville. I was being lazy about signing up until I noticed on the site that there were only about 60 spots left!! I can't believe how fast these races are filling up. It is kind of cool seeing a lot more people realize that the marathon is not the pinnacle of running achievement. Doing a 100 mile race is an incredible experience.

I still haven't figured out what the fifth event is going to be yet. I say event, not race, because for the last few days a thought has been running through my mind. I can't seem to shake it either. I am thinking about giving it another go at running across the state. In 2008 and 2009 I attempted it with my friend, Sherpa John Lacroix. Both times he did it and both times I failed to finish it. The first time I ended up with a stress fracture the second time my tendinitis was bad enough that I decided that I would end up with another stress fracture if I continued. The route goes across NH at its widest point, from West to East. It starts at the bridge in Brattleboro and finishes at Ordiorne State Park in Rye NH. For me, the biggest problem is that it is all pavement. I really hate running on pavement and coach Jack is not going to be happy to hear I'm thinking about doing it.

But there is a powerful draw for me to try it. I always talk about how your dreams and goals don't have time limits on them. If you have a strong passion to achieve something then failed attempts are just learning experiences. They don't mean that you give up on the dream. I also have never run more than 100 miles and I have always wanted to. It would be a lot easier than traveling to yet another race. I have a while to decide if that is what I want to do, but I'm leaning that way.

Me and Sherpa John in 2008 Running across NH

Here is a link to SJ's reports from 2008 and 2009.

Here is this weeks recap.

3-14-2011
Monday AM - 7 Miles (1:01:52).
For some reason I was slow to start this morning. First mile was 10m pace, second was 9m pace. Loosened up about 3 miles into it and felt ok. Ran on the roads with my Merrell's, no ankle pain at all. I think the ankle reacts more to the type of shoe and stride that I am using. It also could be speedwork vs. running easy. For now I know that running with a mid/fore foot strike doesn't seem to bother it. Heel striking does.

3-15-2011
Tuesday AM - 8 Miles (1:08:13). Also strength trained for 45 minutes. Did full workout.
Nice run, easy.

3-16-2011
Wednesday AM - 14 Miles (1:59:02)
First snow, then rain. Ran on the snowmobile trails. Still had a great run even though I was soaked at the end.

3-17-2011
Thursday - 7.25 Miles (58:23)
Hill intervals. Did 1/2 mile repeats. Broke through the permafrost on one of the downhills going at sub 6min pace and got slammed into the ground. Lucky I didn't get hurt.

3-18-2011
Friday - 14 Miles (1:54:52)
Snowmobile trails. Even though my calves are sore, I felt awesome on this mornings run.

3-19-2011
Saturday - 8 Miles (1:06:31)
Nice easy run on roads.

3-20-2011
Sunday - 22 Miles (3:08:23)
Awesome run today. I felt excellent! Ran more roads than usual and was pretty hilly. 22 miles felt extremely easy today.

Totals
80.2 Miles
11:17:16Hours running

45 min strength training

Mash Potato Marathon

2011-03-13T20:48:00.001-04:00

If you have been reading my blog for a while you know I have a coach for my running. Jack Pilla is an incredible runner and his coaching has helped my results a lot. He is helping prepare me for my 5 100's in 5 months. I love the training schedules he sends me. To an average coach it would look like a sick joke. In a typical 16 week marathon training program there are 2 or 3 long runs at or a little over 20 miles in length. If you look at my last few weeks mileage summaries you will see that I run at least on run a week over 20 miles. So far this year I have run 9 of them.

On this weeks schedule was 26 miles for today's long run. I woke up excited as I have been running 80 mile weeks and I feel great. I couldn't wait to get out and be on the trails all morning. The weather looked great and I was wearing shorts for the third day in a row. I packed up my gels and waist pack with one bottle, but some money in my shorts and headed out. The snowmobile trails entrance is one mile from my house so I carried my Yacktrax and put them on when I got there.

After several days temps in the high 40's and the nights not getting cold, the trails were very soft. After only two miles of trails I was beginning to question my route. It is one of my favorite runs in the summer and it goes 13.1 miles one way where it comes out right at a little store. I can get a bottle of Gatorade, bag of chips and take a quick break. Then all I have to do is turn around and go home! Today the trail was like running on mashed potatoes. Even with my Yacktrax on I was sinking in with almost every step. I concentrated on my stride and just worked on being efficient.

Since October when I set my marathon PR I have been working on changing my stride to more of a mid/forefoot stride. It seems like everybody in the world is doing this and there is good reason to do so. Especially if you are running for endurance. My main reason for changing is that heel striking was aggravating my tendinitis. I found that when I ran on my forefoot it didn't hurt. At first my calves took a beating. They were sore all the time. It has taken me 6 months to get to the point where I feel like it is natural and todays goal was to keep my form up even when I got tired. It gave me something to focus on other than how hard the running was. I was also happy to have my feel soaked for the entire run. I am trying the Drymax socks because everybody says that they prevent blisters. Here is their new ad. Take a good look at the picture of his feet from last year. It is the worst blisters I have ever seen. Looks more like a burn victim. I was freaked out when I found out that was his feet after Western States.

The run today took me a little bit over 4 hours and my feet were perfect. I really won't know until my feet are wet for over 6 hours or so. That's when they typically start to become a problem. Lets hope they work. If I can do a full 100 without blisters it will make it so much more enjoyable.

Here is this weeks recap:

3-7-2011
Monday AM - 7.6 Miles (58:33).
Ran a little faster than I have been in the Hokas on the roads. Pretty hilly route.

3-8-2011
Tuesday AM - 7 Miles (1 Hour). Also strength trained for 20 minutes. Did full workout.
Easy treadmill run.

3-9-2011
Wednesday AM - 12 Miles (1:42:00)
Some roads, mostly snowmobile trails. Was supposed to run 14, but my cold got the best of me. Plus I had to drive 3 hours to an auction right after my run and was antsy to get going.

3-10-2011
Thursday - 9 Miles (1:13:58)
Notes say "I felt really good on today's run.yesterday my ankle hurt all day, so I decided to take it easy today. I did do one hill sprint, but for the most part just had an easy run on the trails."

3-11-2011
Friday - 13 Miles (1:55:39)
Worked on going slow and concentrating on my form. Felt very good, no ankle pain when running.

3-12-2011
Saturday - 8.25 Miles (1:07:14)
Second day in a row running in shorts. Felt good.

3-13-2011
Sunday - 26.1 Miles (4:06:13)
Mash Potato Marathon! What a tough workout. Only 2 miles of pavement the rest mushy snowmobile trails. I concentrated really hard on my form and feel great.

Totals
82.7 Miles
12:03:37 Hours running

20 min strength training